Report LAPA Design

Climate adaptation design and piloting

Climate Adaptation Design and Piloting Project - Nepal

2011RePoRt

the design team would like to acknowledge the input provided by officials, professionals, civic society institutions, constitutional assembly members and political party leaders, and for sharing their vision towards effective local climate change adaptation initiatives undertaken in Nepal.

the team would like to acknowledge their appreciation of the contributions of Batu Uprety, Sanjip Raj Pandey and Sujan Subedi of the Ministry of environment and Simon Lucas and Sabita thapa of the Department for International Development (DFID) for their critical review and comments on the draft report.

the team would like to acknowledge Biswo Ulak and Yogendra Bijuchhen (CADP-N) for their administrative and managerial support. the team would like to thank the pilot teams and team leaders from Britain Nepal Medical trust (BNMt), Institute for Social and environmental transition - Nepal (ISet-N), Local Initiative for Biodiversity Research and Development (LI-BIRD), Nepal Water for Health (NeWAH), Resource Identification and Management Society Nepal (RIMS-N), Rupantaran Nepal, Rural Self-Reliance Development Centre (RSDC).

they greatly appreciate the local communities, staff of government and non-governmental agencies, and local leaders who worked with the pilot teams to establish the feasibility of local adaption planning.

the Climate Adaptation Design and Piloting Project (CADP-N) is a collaborative project of the International Institute for environment and Development and the Institute for Social and environmental transition. the work was funded by DFID Nepal under a bilateral agreement with the Ministry of environment. this project was contracted and project managed through the DFID-funded Livelihoods Resource Centre, which is led by HtSPe Limited.

the design team consisted of: Simon Anderson (IIeD), Nanki Kaur (IIeD), Deepak Rijal (CADP-N), Jessica Ayers (IIeD), Sibongile Pradhan, Ajaya Dixit (ISet-N), Marcus Moench (ISet), Fawad Khan (ISet-P), Basana Sapkota (Moe) & Binod Chapagain.

the Piloting team consisted of: a. Support studies: Naya Sharma, Ganga Awasti & Krishna Joshi, Jony Mainaly, Kalyan Gauli

and Jibraj Pokhrel. b. Pilot studies: Shreekumar Maharjan, Prativa Sapkota, Ram B. Mijar, Dhan Khadka & Rakesna

Basnet; Sohan Shrestha, Meena Kunwar; Mahendra Shah, Bhupendra Shahi, Manoj Khadka, Bhanu Niraula; Himalaya Panthi, Mr. Ratan Budhathoki, Umesh Pandey and Santosh Basnet; Arjun Dhakal, Shiva Basyal; Ajaya Dixit, Kamal thapa and Madhav Devkota; thapa K., G.B. Sharma, R.B. Rana, K. Lamsal, and S. Subedi;

Citation: Name of Chapter, Author/organisation. Climate Adaptation Design and Piloting Project, Nepal. 2011.

Acknowledgements

ACSM : Advocacy Communication and Social Mobilization ADC : Agriculture Development Committee AICC : Agriculture Information and Communication Center AIDS : Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome AMC : Activity Management Committee BCC : Behaviour Change Communication BNMt : the Britain Nepal Medical trust CADP-N : Climate Change Adaptation Design and pilot Project -Nepal CAPA : Community Adaptation Plans of Action CF : Community Forest CBA : Cost Benefit Analysis CC : Climate Change CCA : Climate Change Adaptation CFUG : Community Forest User group CG : Central Government CSo : Civil Society organization DADo : District Agriculture Development office DAG : Disadvantage Groups DAo : District Administration office DDC : District Development Committee DFCC : District Forest Coordination Committee DFo : District Forest office DFID : Department for International Development DHo : District Health office DLSo : District Livestock office DSCo : District Soil Conversation office DPHo : District Public Health office DCSIDo : District Cottage and Small Industry Development office FCHV : Female Community Health Volunteer FeCoFUN : Federation of Community Forest Users Nepal FFS : Farmers Field School FGD : Focus Group Discussion FNCCI : Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Go : Government organizations GoN : Government of Nepal Gos : Government office HH : Household HFMC : Health Facility Management Committee HIV : Human Immune Deficiency Virus HP : Health Post

Acronyms

HR : Human Resource HRD : Human Resource Development I/NGo : International/ Non-Governmental organization IGG : Income Generating Group IIeD : International Institute of environment and Development IPM : Integrated Pest Management ISet : Institute for Social and environment transition IWM : Improved Water Mill LAPA : Local Adaptation Plan of Action LFP : Livelihoods and Forestry Programme LSGA : Local Self Government Act MAPS : Medicinal and Aromatic Plants MCA : Multi-Criteria Assessment MFSC : Ministry of Forests and Soil Conversation Moe : Ministry of environment M&e : Monitoring and evaluation MoHP : Ministry of Health and Population NAPA : National Adaptation Programme of Action NeWAH : Nepal Water for Health NGo : Non-Governmental organisation NtFP : Non-timber Forest Products oD : organizational Development P1 : Priority one PHC/oRC : Primary Health Care/out Reach Clinic PILMG : Public and Institutional Land Management Group PNoG : Partner Non-Governmental organisation PRA : Participatory Rural Appraisal PWBR : Participatory Well-Being Ranking RDF : Regional Forest Directorate RIMS Nepal : Resource Identification and Management Society Nepal RN : Rupantaran - Nepal RP : Range Post RSDC : Rural Self-Reliance Development Centre SLD : Shared Learning Dialogue SRC : Self-Reliance Cooperatives StD : Sexually transmitted Disease SWot : Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities and threats Analysis VDC : Village Development Committee VFCC : Village Forest Coordination Committee WASH : Water Sanitation and Hygiene

tAble of contents

introduCtion 1

support studies

Responding to Climate Change in a Transitional Politics: A Review of the Political Context of Nepal in Relation to Designing Local Adaptation Plans for Action 5

Planning and Budgeting Processes with Reference to Local Adaptation Plans for Action: Current Practices and Experiences of State and Non-state Actors in Nepal 27

A Report on the Decentralization Framework of Nepal 65

pilot reports

Designing Local Adaptation Plans for Action for the Agriculture Sector 97

Designing Local Adaptation Plans for Action for the Forestry Sector 147

Strengthening Health Facility Management Committees to Back Up Essential Health Adaptation Initiatives of Climate Change Vulnerable Communities 189

Developing Climate Change Adaptive Capacity through WASH Initiatives and Local Planning Processes 243

Exploring Climate Adaptation Mechanisms for Watershed Management 295

Identifying the Role of Local Financial Institutions in Finance Delivery, Governance and Planning in Developing the Capacity of Communities to Adapt to climate change 327

Gateway Systems Analysis for Assessing Vulnerability and Building Local Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change Impacts 357

An Assessment of Institutions and Experience to Provide a Foundation for Climate Adaptation Designing and Piloting 411

IntroductIon

climate change, in the form of increased temperature patterns and increased variability in the timing, intensity and form of precipitation, is already leading to differentiated impacts across nepal. Future climate induced changes are likely to exacerbate these impacts (nepal nAPA, 2010). climate change thus threatens to pose an additional, and potentially major, barrier to the already challenging development process in nepal.

responding to the need to address the impacts of climate change, the Government of nepal (Gon) has initiated the process of adaptation planning. this includes a number of policy and institutional processes. For instance, in terms of policy planning initiatives, the Gon has completed the preparation of the national Adaptation Programme of Action (nAPA) document and has in place a donor compact on climate change, which provides the basis for donor alignment and coordination behind a nationally led adaptation planning process. In terms of institutional processes, the Gon initiated the nAPA Plus process, which put in place institutions such as the Knowledge Management Hub and a Multi-stakeholder Forum that supports robust and iterative adaptation planning. the Government has established a climate change division within the Ministry of Environment which has a mandate to coordinate the climate agenda in nepal.

Following the principles of the nAPA process, the Government recognises the need to mainstream adaptation into national planning processes. It is also keen to support local planning processes and capacities, and acknowledges that effective adaptation support will need to be mainstreamed into development planning at all levels - local, sector and national - and into programmes for social protection and disaster risk reduction. In light of these two factors, the Gon has identified the need to develop Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPA) as a means to mainstream climate change adaptation into development planning in a bottom-up manner.

under the climate change donor compact, development partners are willing to collaborate and work towards climate change resilience, guided by the Government. dFId, as signatory to the nepal climate change donor compact, supports this approach, and is supporting the development of LAPAs through the project Support for climate change adaptation in nepal – design and piloting phase (cAdP-n).

the cAdP-n project tested a series of hypotheses related to the feasibility and effectiveness of designing LAPA so that they identify and address the climate change adaptation needs of the poor and excluded – the most climate vulnerable people at the local scale. these hypotheses were tested through 7 pilots that explored the process of bottom-up mainstreaming of local adaptation priorities into development planning. the pilots took different entry points for informing the design of LAPAs:

• FourofthepilotstookasectoralentrypointtoinformthedesignofLAPAs(agriculture,forestry, public health, and water and sanitation).

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introduction

• Onepilotlookedattheroleofmicrofinanceinstitutionsinsupportingadaptation.• Onepilotexploredthepotentialforadaptationplanningatthewatershedscale.• Thefinalpilottestedasystems-basedapproachtoadaptationplanningand

mainstreaming.

the piloting sites are depicted in Figure 1. details of piloting partners and approaches are provided in table 1.

the pilot activities were supported by detailed studies of the existing planning and financial frameworks to inform entry points for mainstreaming. these studies were: 1. Political Economy of Climate Change in Nepal: this report assesses the political

economy around climate change in nepal in order to identify viable design and implementation options for the LAPA;

2. Planning Frameworks in Nepal: this report assesses the policy, budgetary and institutional planning frameworks in nepal. It aims to guide effective mainstreaming of the LAPA into existing development planning processes;

3. Decentralisation Framework in Nepal: this report assesses the decentralisation framework in nepal in order to identify entry points for the bottom-up mainstreaming of the LAPA.

Figure 1LAPA pilot sites and pilot partners

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introduction

table 1 Details of Piloting Partners

LAPA entry point Partner Organization Working area

Public health Britain nepal Medical trust (BnMt) Ghodasain and danabari Vdc of Achham and Illam district

community forest rupantaran nepal dhungegadhi, Pyuthan district ransi Vdc of rukum district Sukrauli Vdc of nawalparasi

Agriculture resource Identification, Management Society nepal (rIMS)

Jogimara Vdc of dhading district

Watershed Management Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, research and development (LI-BIrd)

rupakot, Majhthana Vdc and Lekhnath Municipality, Kaski

Water, sanitation and hygiene nepal Water for Health (nEWAH) rauta Vdc of udayapur district

Finance and service delivery mechanism

rural Self-reliance development centre (rSdc) Shivagadi and Kumalgaun, Kalikot

core and Gateway Systems Institute for Social and Environmental transition -nepal (ISEt-nepal)

one Vdc each at Kapilvastu and Arghakhachhin

this cAdP-n report is a compilation of the support studies and pilot reports that have informed the design of the LAPA framework and process. It is one of three main outputs of the cAdP-n project, and is accompanied by:

1. TECHNICAL REPORT: this report provides an overview of the LAPA process and learnings.2. LAPA MANUAL: this manual outlines the LAPA methodology for all the steps involved

in designing and mainstreaming local adaptation plans into the development planning process.

the main features of the LAPA are:1. the LAPA Framework ensures that the process of integrating climate change resilience

into local-to-national planning is bottom-up, inclusive, responsive and flexible.2. The unit for LAPA is the VDC. the Vdc is the most appropriate scale for integrating local

adaptation plans for action into development planning. this scale is able to capture location/community specific adaptation priorities and ensure that national level support does not get fragmented or incur large transaction costs. It thus provides the best match between bottom-up and top-down adaptation planning.

3. use of the LAPA Framework will support decision-makers at local-to-national levels to :a. Identify the most climate vulnerable Vdcs, wards and people, and their adaptation

needs and options; b. Prioritise adaptation options in easy ways whereby local people make the

prioritisation decisions; c. Prepare and Integrate local adaptation plans for action into local-to-national planning

in accordance with the Local Self Governance Act ; d. Identify appropriate service delivery agents and channels for funding to implement

local adaptation plans for action, and thus ensure that the best sequence of adaptation actions is carried out by the most appropriate service providers in a timely and resource efficient manner;

e. Assess the progress of LAPA to ensure effective planning and delivery; f. Provide cost-effective options for scaling out local-to-national adaptation planning.

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introduction

5

Responding to Climate Change in a tRansitional politiCs: a Review of the politiCal Context of nepal in Relation to designing loCal adaptation plans foR aCtion

Submitted toClimate Change Adaptation and Design Project Nepal (CADP-N)Lalitpur, Nepal

Submitted byNaya Sharma PaudelForest Action

November, 2010

Responding to Climate Change in a transitional politics: a Review of the political Context of nepal in Relation to designing local adaptation plans for action

This political appraisal aims at providing a brief overview of Nepal’s political dynamics and responses to climate change from various political institutions. The appraisal examines the political dynamics particularly in relation to how political constituencies understand and respond to the emerging climate change threats.

The review is primarily based on literature review, content analysis of some key policy documents and interactions with Members of Parliament (MPs). In particular, the election manifestos of major political parties, drafts of various constitutional committees and government’s major initiatives on climate change make up the secondary information. It was followed by bilateral and joint interactions with several MPs including those who are advancing climate change related activities within the Parliament.

Analysis of these documents and interactions with MPs reveals that there is enormous interest and concern around climate change. The Prime Minister himself, the cabinet ministers, the government agencies, particularly at the upper layer, are adequately informed, concerned and are actively advancing the agenda. On the other hand political leaders, parties and the constituent assembly also appear to be aware of the issue so that several provisions are made in the new constitution.

Upon analysis it is learnt that natural resources management has received a high priority in the political programmes of the parties, in the drafts of the thematic committees of the constitution assembly and in everyday discourses among the political leaders. However, having given a high priority, there are often gaps between policy rhetoric and actual practices of parties and the parliament. Another important aspect that came out is the relative low contention on the issue. While there are several areas of disputes in planning and designing development interventions, the climate change agenda is often perceived as technical and isolated from the development agenda. Devolution and decentralisation appears to be one of the major elements which will have a major implication on the climate adaptation programme.

In this context, the effectiveness of the adaptation initiatives lies to the extent in which the Local Adaptation Plans for Action are able to develop a decentralised and highly pro-poor focus. Given the relative access of ordinary citizens, including the poor and marginalised, to the local governments, it is suggested that local governments should be the locus of programme design and implementation.

ExEcUTIvE SUMMAry

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executive Sum mary 7 tab le of Contents 9

1. introduction 11

2. the political dynamics 12

3. Constitutional responses to climate crisis 13

4. Climate change and party manifestos 15

5. the parliamentary process 18

6. Government initiatives 19

7. Nepal’s position on CoP 15 21

8. designing climate adaptation programme within the transitional politics in Nepal 22 8.1 NrM and environmental issues as priority agenda 22 8.2 Gaps between written statements and actual practice 22 8.3 climate change as a technical less contested agenda 23 8.4 Local level, including direct community institutions is the preferred strategy 23

9. Conclusion 24

10. References 25

ANNeXeS 26

TAbLE Of cONTENTS

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This study looks at the national political dynamics of Nepal in the context of climate change. The study explores the potential supportive or constraining political environment that strongly influences the success [or failure] of the evolving policies, plans and programmes aimed at addressing climate change. In particular, it examines the potential risks and uncertainties in the political arena that directly influence the successful implementation of the Local Adaptation Plan for Action (LAPA). The appraisal is therefore an important aspect of LAPA as it ensures that the LAPA is adequately informed by Nepal’s unfolding political dynamics and allow ample spaces for adjustment to the emerging political impulses.

While reviewing the overall political dynamics in relation to climate change, specific focus is paid to: i) understanding the priorities of relevant constitutional Assembly and Parliamentary committees in relation to climate change; ii) Understanding the working modality adopted by the above committees in framing climate change related policies; and iii) identifying and understanding the dynamics of major climate change institutions.

Developing a political appraisal of Nepal is itself a challenging job due its complex dynamics with multiple actors often driven by unstated agenda. consequently, there is huge uncertainty with very low predictability. The task is particularly challenging because any proxy indicator has relatively low reliability. To overcome this, multiple sources of data are being used. These include: election manifestos of major political parties; prepared drafts of various committees at the constitution assembly; interview and interaction of with cA members; major initiatives of the government.

The report is divided into four sections. The first section deals with stated and hidden agenda and the positioning of the major political parties on addressing climate change induced consequences and threats. The second section reviews the emerging responses at the constitutional level. The third section builds on the government’s major initiative towards addressing climate threats. The fourth and final section analyses and synthesises lessons based on the political dynamics observed in the above three sections.

INTrODUcTION

THE POLITIcAL DyNAMIcS

Nepal’s political transition towards a new federal republic state has been slower than anticipated due to a number of factors. The constituent Assembly, for instance, has been unable to draft a new constitution within its original two year timeframe. The establishment of the current government has been preceded by a period during which political parties were unable to arrive at a common consensus on the nature of government. . The differences are at two fronts: i) there are huge challenges in completing the peace process. The crux of the problem is issue of the modality and number of ex-Maoist combatants to be integrated in the national army. ii) bringing the parties with diverse ideological orientation and political programme together into a new constitution is another big challenge. Parties have diverse views on the structure of the government and of parliament, formation of the court, number, border and authority to the states, local governments and property rights. currently, there are over 200 such provisions where the parties are deeply divided. Nepal’s internal political dynamics are also influenced by regional interests. A Task force has been established to try and bring about consensus between political parties in order to resolve the major issues on the road towards the establishment of a federal state.

The practical challenges towards reaching to a logical end must be understood in the context of long, painful political history and unique power configuration in Nepalese polity. The famous –twelve-point agreement followed by historical successful people’s movement against the monarchy led to major political change. The key outcomes of the changes are: i) abolition of century long monarchy; ii) comprehensive peace accord between the government and the rebels; and iii) election for the constitution assembly. During this process there has been a major change in the traditional power configuration. Whilst the power of the monarchy declined, the Maoist party became a mojor political force with largest presence in the constitution assembly. The conventional parliamentary parties – Nepali congress and the UML became the second and third parties. Also the regional parties, particularly representing Madhesis emerged as a significant force though they are internally divided. An important aspect of the new power configuration is that the current constitution assembly can be regarded as inclusive with over one third women, a significant number of indigenous people, dalits and other ethnic minorities as constitutional Assembly (cA) members.

The key development challenges and the government priorities however may remain unchanged despite the evolving political transition, and current stalemate in peace process and constitution drafting. The widespread poverty, rising inequality and deep-seated social exclusion, which are largely recognized by all actors including the political parties may continue to be the key development priority.

At the operational level, lack of accountability, frequent strikes and protests and frequent changes in political dynamics, continue to undermine the implementation and effective delivery of programmes.

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cONSTITUTIONAL rESPONSES TO THE cLIMATE crISIS

Nepal is drafting a new constitution to institutionalise a fundamental political and social change in recent years. After its completion and approval, the new constitution provides a general framework within which all laws and regulations will be developed.

In this context, the provisions associated with natural resources management, environmental governance and fundamental citizen rights can be regarded as the proxy indicators for political responses to the issue of climate change. Therefore, the analysis of the relevant provisions in drafts of different subject committees of the constitution Assembly is an important aspect of this analysis. This section is dedicated to the review of the constitutional provisions.

Generally speaking, the constitution has addressed climate change issue directly or indirectly at different points. Out of 10 thematic committee reports (Annex 1) six have substantially touched on the issue (Table 1). It is observed that climate change issue is clearly spelt out at the heart of the constitution -in the fundamental rights section – that citizens enjoy rights to adaptation and that they will have rights to compensation against climate related disasters. Apart from guaranteeing other basic rights, the interim constitution ensures rights of ethnic minorities, indigenous people and those who fully rely on natural resources as well as those who are vulnerable to climate change impacts. Moreover, the constitution instructs to set aside 40% forestland, for environmental conservation. Major arguments behind the proposal are sustained supply of environmental services, conservation of biodiversity, arresting erosion and landslide and watershed protection. However, the rationale for the provision has been questioned from several corners. redefining forests as a most productive and climate resilient ecosystem can be a good strategy to address food scarcity, poverty and climate change.

The proposed provisions are quite progressive, have specific provisions for minorities and indigenous people, and relatively clear on the issue of climate change and potential negative consequences. The strong and explicit provisions on climate change issues could be due to the timing of drafting the constitution. This is being drafted in a time when climate change has dominated the national and international discourses of development and environment including national security. Also Nepal being an agrarian, developing country, there is no strong industrial and corporate influence over the policy making. Whatever is the explanation, strong constitutional provisions provides a general assurance that any policies and plans to address climate change threats may get adequate support from all the state apparatus including the government agencies.

Structure of governance, particularly the extent of devolution and decentralisation is a critical issue in responding to climate change. Strong local governance with adequate

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Source: review of the drafts of thematic committees at Constitution Assembly, author

SN

1 NrM committee recognises the priority rights of indigenous people and local community over natural resources; rights to food, shelter, clean environment and drinking water are recognised as the fundamental rights; protection of natural resources and other public property is the duties of citizen, state is obliged to maintain 40% forestland and to support its citizens with adequate compensation during natural calamities;

2 committees on constitutional bodies

State shall monitor whether rights of indigenous people are properly observed and whether all environmental agreements including the climate change one is being property complies with.

3 constitutional committee

State shall impose state of emergency during natural disasters

4 committee for national interests

citizen will have rights to food, clothing, shelter and healthy environment; state shall keep 40 % forestland; protects the rights of IPs including their patent rights and fair benefits from biodiversity;

5 State restructuring and power sharing committee

State power will be exercised by different level political and administrative entities with fully decentralised power sharing mechanism

Autonomy to various social groups in managing local affairs

6 fundamental rights and Guiding Principles

State will manage all land, rights to clean, healthy and sustainable environment, adaptation rights against climate change, compensation against climate related disaster, rights to food

TAbLE 1: treatment of climate change by the drafts of the new constitution

autonomy in handling environmental and development issues may open up spaces of locally suitable, and designed responses to climate change. Although a good Local Self Governance Act was promulgated in 1998, it was not implemented to its spirit. Meanwhile, due to the violent political conflict, and painful political transition after 2006 movement there are no elected political local governments in Nepal for over a decade. Government officials are running the office for administrative purposes. consequently, the whole agenda of local governance has been in the shadow.

There are strong prospects for strong local governance in the future. There is a political consensus and the constitutional drafts have put important functions under the list for local governments. recently a high level multi-party Task force has agreed to empower local governments with their own legislative, judiciary and executive functions. It indicates a political consensus for strong local governance. This will provide adequate spaces where LAPA and other programmes can be implemented in direct collaboration with the local governments.


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issues maoist NC umL Forum

Land tenure revolutionary land reform Land reform through national consensus

Scientific land management Land issue under provincial policy

forest management

Scientific forest management, plantation, forest and biodiversity based industry

Green parks, plantation; commercial management, mgt of Terai forest, protected areas in Siwalik,

conservation for enhanced production, community based management, mobilise international aid for Himalayan conservation HHhhhh

State will protect forests of the hills and churia

Water mgt Water power as the basis of national economy

Water power as the basis of national economy

Water power as the basis of national economy

churia must be protected as water source for Terai as the basis of national economy

Agriculture Transform traditional agriculture into a commercial one

Modernise agriculture Scientific agriculture as the foundation of rural development

Agriculture under provincial policy

NrM Optimal use of resources for alleviating poverty

Sustainable management of NrM

Participatory NrM NrM issues under provincial policy

Environmental sustainability

Protection of natural environment,

Mainstreaming environment in overall DDc programme

Environmental issues under provincial policy

Multilateral environmental agreements

respect all MEAs respect all MEAs respect all MEAs

TAbLE 2: Key natural resource management issues in parties’ manifestos

Source: Analysis of manifestos by the author

In a parliamentary political system, citizen vote to the parties based explicitly on their stated agenda, which are expected to be translated into government policies and programmes. Therefore, an assessment of election manifestos of political parties gives an indication of the public policies to be adopted by the government. This study has analysed manifestos of major political parties which can influence the government policies either being part the coalition or from their opposition bench. The table below presents key statements of the four major parties namely the cPN (Maoist), Nepali congress, cPN (UML) and Madhesi Jana Adhikar forum (Table 2).

The review focuses on sectors that are already affected or are most likely to be affected by the climate change. Therefore, the focus is on natural resources management and rural livelihoods associated with the management of these resources. These are agriculture, food, land use, forest management and environmental policies. The analysis of party manifestos reveals that there are very limited provisions that directly address climate change. However, the responses to climate change threats can be found in different areas including forest and natural resource management, environmental governance, agriculture, public

cLIMATE cHANGE AND PArTy MANIfESTOS

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health, fundamental human rights, state institutions, national security, etc. Land use and land tenure are the priority areas. There appears a common concern for the need of transforming land use system and land tenure. Parties have used language according to their ideological baggage – revolutionary, radical or scientific. Agrarian reform in diverse form appears in all manifestos.

A related issue is reorganising agriculture. Enhancing agriculture production and productivity is often on the top of the agenda across all manifestos. In all manifestoes modernising agriculture with increased inputs has been given due attention. Not surprisingly, all parties follow that path of enhancing production through high input agriculture but quite in identifying potential impacts of climate change on the performance of the sectors. A few exceptions exist at some points – organic farming, local varieties, sustainable farming though not promoted as adaptation measures to climate change.

The discussion on water is often associated with hydro power. Almost every document recognises hydro power as the key sector that potentially contributes to national economy. Harnessing hydro power potential is therefore a major priority. Only a few documents focus on irrigation. Unfortunately, little is discussed on how to arrange drinking water. It appears that water is seen as the source of national economy not a basic livelihoods need.

Policies towards forest management appear to be influenced by conservationist agenda. Almost every manifesto associates forest management with non timber forest products (NTfP), ecotourism and biodiversity. There is little discussion on timber management and forest’s contribution to national economy. The

language itself is forest conservation, not of management. Only the Nc manifesto recognises commercial management of forest resources as a priority policy agenda.

Having said these similarities, the manifestos also show some dissimilarity as summarised in Table 2. The differences exist on land distribution. Nepali congress (Nc) and forum are relatively silent on the issue. Though scientific forest management is common, cPN (Maoist) appears to have emphasised on industrial use of forest while forum is concerned with protection of churia forest. The language of cPN (UML) appears to be influenced by developmental, participatory discourses (e.g. mobilising international aid for Himalayan conservation, participatory NrM). Mainstreaming environmental management within the District Development council/committee (DDc) is explicitly stated in Nc manifesto.

It should be noted that a comparison between Party manifesto’s is difficult as they do not have a common framework. consequently, many specific issues may have been left out unintentionally.

Despite the indicative policy directions provided above, it is generally hard to track any specific policy focus of the manifestos. In many cases, similar programmes are proposed by the parties with seemingly opposite orientation. Moreover, parties prefer to use general language than specific and often populist tune. Analysis of the manifestos shows that the parties try to please everyone than to propose any substantial policy options. In addition, parties treat climate change, often as a technical and isolated issue largely associated with environment. In most of the documents climate changes comes along with forest and other natural resources and the solution offered are also associated within reforestation/plantation.

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As parties largely see climate change along with forest and environment often detached from the economy, industry and livelihoods; there appears little contestation in recognising the problem. It has two consequences. first, there appears consensus among the political in recognising and defining the problem. Second, most of the solutions offered are around afforestation and forest protection where there is little debate. The potential consequences are that climate change may never get properly recognised and addressed.

The party manifestos give divers views on understanding poverty and addressing it.

The Maoists often talks of socio-economic and cultural restructuring- redistributing the power and resources. There are heavy, politically loaded concepts such as feudalism and imperialism which the Maoist wants to transform. Other parties, particularly Nc aims for high growth and addressing poverty through trickledown effect. Madhesi Jana Adhikar forum has little explicit explanation of the issue. May be the difference exists on the process and steps for economic transformation. Maoist seemed still to be committed for political change before they directly go for economic transformation whereas other parties’ position seems to be to institutionalize political achievement and give top priority for economic transformation.

bOx 1

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal his government has given a high priority in responding climate change threats many of which come from his personal interests. The Kalapathar cabinet meeting, Nepal’s participation in copenhagen and activities of the climate change council indicate so. However, there are doubts in the continuity of these initiatives. Some members of constitution assembly have initiated a collective response to address climate change threats. They visited different parts of the country to observe the impacts of climate change. They also advanced the discussion with concerned stakeholders and professionals and prioritise climate adaptation projects within the regular disbursement of MP’s funds. They have funded for projects on improved cooking stoves, environmental awareness, and environmental management.

Source: interaction with MPs on 27 Oct, 2010

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THE PArLIAMENTAry PrOcESS

The parliamentary process, particularly, the structure of the various thematic committees (Annex II) and the process of developing and finalising any specific agenda into the form of law is an important issue to be aware of. The parliament works primarily through these thematic-committees. Apart from primary discussion on any bills, they provide a political oversight of respective policy issues and also sometimes monitor the implementation. Some of the past actions of these committees had been very important in shaping government decisions and actions. The Public Account committee and the Natural resource committee in particular remained active.

currently over 20 MPs representing different parties have formed an informal group on climate change (Annex III). They collectively visited different parts of the country to see the impacts of climate change in landscape and rural livelihoods. Some members of this group have invested the Parliamentarian Development fund into climate related projects. However, these projects have received little technical support from the government or other development agencies. Moreover, the group organised a couple of events to increase the MP’s understanding on the issue. Now MPs of this group are lobbying towards institutionalising a parliamentary committee on climate change that could provide a broad framework for the government’s actions around climate change issue. Most of these are young MPs, who have not the leading roles in their parties but of secondary leadership. Therefore it may take a long time before actually realising the authentic climate change committee within the parliament.

An interaction with MPs revealed that the government bureaucracy often tend to avoid any direct interface with the political leaders. Whenever the MPs demand information on specific policy decisions, the senior officials at the bureaucracy respond late or provide only peripheral information. Sometimes they even complain that the parliamentary committees have become bottlenecks for swift decision making process. Sometimes, there have been disputes over defining correct scope of the committees resulting in encroaching other committee’s territory. This is particularly important as climate change is overly integrated and may simultaneously influence diverse policy arenas.

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GOvErNMENT INITIATIvES

The government of Nepal has taken several initiatives in responding the climate change threats (box 1) Most of these initiatives are part of compliance under the UNfccc. Some others are encouraged and supported by the donors. Many of the activities are routine and mandatory activities under global conventions. Some example include: submission of national communication report to the UNfccc secretariat, formation of various high level committees, regular participation to cOP and development of NAPA, etc. Moreover, being one of the poorest and aid dependent counties, Nepal often immediately signs almost all international conventions and actively participates in several global and regional events. The cabinet of GON met in Kalapatthar, near the Everest base camp and declared three new PAs2 as dedicated to climate mitigation purpose. Similarly, Nepal applied to the World bank’s fcPf scheme and is preparing itself for carbon trade through rEDD scheme.

Apart from its domestic initiatives, Nepal has been actively representing itself in the global climate negotiation and has clearly expressed its position in various issues. On December 16, 2009, speaking at the copenhagen, Prime Minister Madhav Nepal has proposed five-point program on climate change. firstly, the Prime Minister urged the world leaders to think of the future of our planet, highlighted the need to understand the common but differentiated responsibility. Secondly, he clearly expressed his intention that the copenhagen treaty should be ambitious and legally binding following the Kyoto protocol and that developed nations should set high targets on reducing greenhouse gases. Thirdly, he demanded that a priority should be given to the least developed countries because of their poor capability to adapt to the climate change impacts. fourthly, top priority should be given to the gender sensitive development and poverty alleviation to address the

climate change. finally, he requested for a concrete and sustainable investment with easy access to resources and technology for the identified LDcs.

Government actions on climate change so far are focused at the international and national level. There are no specific actions at the local level. Only some awareness types of activities are carried out mainly by the non government development agencies. Absence of significant

bOx 2 Nepal’s major activities on climate change

1 Initial National communication (INc) submitted in July 2004 2 climate change Network- a multistakeholder body established3 climate change council formed chaired by the Prime Minister 4 ‘Kathmandu to copenhagen’ -a regional conference organied 5 Kalapatahar (Everest) meeting declared new PAs 6 Second National communication submitted7 climate change policy under preparation8 Preparation of NAPA

Source: collection from media report

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investment at the local level can be attributed to the weak decentralisation. Though the Local Self Governance Act was promulgated in 1998, it was never implemented in its true spirit. The local government bodies remained largely under the Ministry of Local Development and therefore cannot enjoy adequate autonomy to generate revenue, and plan and implement their own development priorities. Many scholars attribute the poor decentralisation for the current movement for federalism and particularly the regional and ethnic resurgence movements.

As there is a political consensus towards federalism and strong devolution, one can expect strong local governments in the new constitution. Apart from effective mobilisation of available resources, the decentralised planning and implementation would help design more appropriate interventions at the local level. Though decentralised system can be expected to induce a pro-poor governance at the local

level, actual realisation of development benefits by the poor remains a major challenge. One way to address this challenge would be to mobilise multiple channels of funding, planning and programme implementation.

There is long history and a rich experience of community governance in Nepal. Local community institutions are managing forests, irrigation canals, watersheds, schools, health posts, saving and credit schemes, cooperatives and several other social services. The disadvantaged groups including the poor, Dalits, women and ethnic minorities have relatively better access to these institutions. Empowering these local institutions, channelling funds through them and mobilising their human and network resources may help the poverty outcomes of any development interventions. Therefore the local government bodies and the community institutions must be considered during the design of LAPA framework and programmes.


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NEPAL’S POSITION ON cOP 15

Nepal reaffirms the shared vision that all people, nations, and cultures have the right to survive, develop, and alleviate poverty. It views developed countries as the culprits of the crisis demands for a climate justice. Therefore, it favours the common but differentiated responsibilities of all nations including many developing countries. It is in favours of the 1.50 c limit.

being a mountainous country, Nepal seeks to draw special attention to mountain ecosystem through forming an alliance of mountain countries. besides, Nepal expects to benefit through its community based forest management particularly through payment mechanism such as reducing Emission from Deforestation Degradation (rEDD+). However, given the extreme poverty and low emission, Nepal’s priority is in adaptation, therefore seeks international support to implement National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) other adaptation programmes. for the same it seeks an adequate, additional, country driven, direct, sustainable, unconditional, and predictable funding primarily as grants. Nepal demanded that developed countries should contribute at least 1.5 % of their GDP to the adaptation fund. These funds could help enhance the national capacity to adaptation and enhance and early warning, forecasting, and modelling of potential climate change impacts.

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DESIGNING A cLIMATE ADAPTATION PrOGrAMME WITHIN THE TrANSITIONAL POLITIcS Of NEPAL

The review of the literature, content analysis of major policy documents and the interaction with the MPs identified some important message for designing any climate adaptation programmes. This political appraisal has become important exercise revealing a couple of good insights that can enhance the quality of the LAPA design and increase the likelihoods of its successful implementation. Major observation can be summarised as follows.

NRM and environmental issues as priority agenda

The natural resource management, particularly the land, forest and water, all being sensitive to climate change impacts has received attention in party manifestos, drafts of the constitution and everyday discourse among the political leaders and citizen alike. Given the significance of these resources to rural livelihoods, basic environmental services and national economy, the political constituency is rightly aware of the issue and has seriously addressed those aspects. In Nepalese context, both sources of emission and also the impacts of warming are particularly felt in the management of natural resources. Keeping aside 40% forest, promoting community based forest management, land reform, developing land use policies, recognition of the importance of drinking water and using water power for national economy all have implications to climate adaptation. The key lesson here is the political institutions and their leaders have a good grasp of climate change and are concerned with the potential consequences on country’s natural environment and rural livelihoods.

Gaps between written statements and actual practice

There are huge gaps between policy rhetoric and actual practice. While the manifestos are full of nice words and appealing arguments for empowering people, the political leaders appear very conservative in actually delivering those promises. The parliament endorsed the ILO 169 provision, has signed all Multilateral Environmental Agreements s, singed all human rights related conventions but hardly any of them are property honoured in practice. It appears that there is little commitment for implementation. Precisely, the lack of [psychological] implementation burden encourages the leaders to sign anything at their hand. for example, food-rights is clearly stated in the existing constitution and also in the proposed new draft, while people of dying of hunger in western hill districts. rights to health is well recognised in several documents, hundreds of people died of cholera last year shaming the government. The key lesson here is no to overwhelmed by the written statements in party manifesto or even in the constitution.

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Climate change as a technical less contested agenda

The climate change adaptation is largely understood as a technical, apolitical agenda. for many leaders, it means asking more money with the international community and fund more development, livelihoods programme. As long as they understand this way there is little conflict between the parties and among other political institutions. consequently, there is little conflict on developing and designing adaptation programmes. While this may emerge as a naive strategy in the long run, the situation would reduce any complexity around designing and implementation of adaptation interventions. There appears little contestation around making National position clear on UNfccc, developing NAPA, drafting a climate change policy, preparation of readiness Preparation Proposal (rPP) for the World bank are just some cases. Therefore, it appears that there is relatively

no opposition in designing and implementing LAPA at least from political institutions.

Local level, including direct community institutions is the preferred strategy

The performance of programme implementation has remained consistently weak in Nepal. Political instability, corruption and lack of accountability have become serious problems. for example, in a recently published report, the Transparency International has ranked Nepal as one of the most corrupt counties in the world. However, the decentralised programme relatively has better performance. Therefore, supporting decentralised implementation modality would increase the likelihoods of effective implementation including better reach to the poor and marginalised social groups.


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cONcLUSION

This study shows that the responses of Nepal’s political constituencies towards climate change crisis are diverse and could often be interpreted as inconsistent. . responses usually emerge from individual understanding, often based on limited knowledge of the whole issue. There is little internal discussion among the political bodies, many of them are exposed to international and NGO led activities and therefore get different perspectives. These are further complicated by the conflicting ideological and political orientation of political parties and leaders. However, it is surprising that there is huge variation even within the leaders of particular political party partly due to little serious homework and discussion on the issue within the parties.

However, despite contingency nature of knowledge of climate politics, the political leaders including senior party leaders share some common dominant narratives on climate change. for example, there is shared view that climate change is primarily due to industrialised countries and that Nepal as a LDc should get aid to better adapt to the changing global climate. However, many have not gone beyond this general situation and there is little understanding and explanation of our adaptation priorities let alone the programmes.

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rEfErENcES

constituent Assembly of Nepal, 2010. Drafts of the thematic committees. The constitution assembly. Kathmandu

cPN (Maoist) 2008. Election manifesto. cPN (Maoist), central office, Kathmandu.

Nepali congress 2008. Election manifesto. Nc, central office, Kathmandu.

cPN (UML) 2008. Election manifesto. cPN (UML), central office, Kathmandu.

Madhesi Jana Adhikar forum, 2008. Election Manifesto. MJf, central office, Kathmandu.

GON, 2008. Press release of the Kalapatthar meeting.

Transparency International 2010. Global corruption reprot 2009. PP: 276-279

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ANNExES

Annex I: Thematic Committees in the Constitution Assembly

1. committee on fundamental rights and Directive Principles2. committee on the Protection of the rights of Minorities and Marginalized

communities3. committee on State restructuring and Distribution of State Power4. committee for Determining the Structure of the Legislative body5. committee for Determining the form of the Government6. Judicial System committee7. committee for Determining the Structure of constitutional bodies8. committee on Natural resources, financial rights and revenue Sharing9. committee for Determining the base of cultural and Social Solidarity 10. National Interest Preservation committee

Annex II: Thematic Committees in the Parliament

1. committee on finance and Labor relations2. committee for International relations and Human rights3. committee on Natural resources and Means4. Development committee5. Women children and Social Welfare committee6. State Affair committee7. Public Account committee

Annex III: List of MPs in climate change learning group

SN Name Party affiliation 1 Akkal bahadur Thing UcPN (Maoist)2 binda Pandey cPN UML3 chandrika Pd yadav M J forum4 Dina Upadhyay Nepali congress5 Khem bahadur bum UcPN (Maoist)6 Laxmi Pariyar Nepali congress7 radha Timilsina cPN(UNIfIED)8 ratna Gurung cPN (UML)9 renu chand (Maoist)10 renu Dahal (Maoist)11 Seela Katila (UML)12 Sita Devi baudel UcPN (Maoist)13 Sunil babu Panta NcP (United)14 Tilak bahadur Thapa (Magar) cPN (ML)

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Planning and Budgeting Processes with reference to local adaPtation Plans for action: current Practices and exPeriences of state and non-state actors in nePal


Submitted byGanga Datta AwasthiKrishna Dev JoshiSUPPORT Foundation

December, 2010

Planning and Budgeting Processes with reference to local adaptation Plans for action: current Practices and experiences of state and non-state actors in nepal

The study reviewed current planning and budgeting processes in relation to developing Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA). The Government of Nepal has recently endorsed the NAPA document and has committed to mainstreaming climate change into all kinds of development initiatives through non-project profiles. Unlike other projects, NAPA is a framework that intends to incorporate climate change adaptation into the regular planning and development process. The government identified the need to develop LAPA as a means of mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development planning in a bottom-up manner. This requires a hybridized planning process where bottom-up and top-down approaches mesh, so as to avoid undermining the value of adaptation interventions. CADP-N is developing a framework for LAPA, in line with the NAPA implementation framework, and has been piloting LAPA initiatives to validate and refine it at the local level.

The authors of this study reviewed and analyzed the relevant literature, participated in a national workshop, and interacted with community, line agencies and CADP-N. This report synthesises the information and presents the four options below for mainstreaming LAPA in varying contexts:

1. A programme that fully follows the government planning, programme and budgeting system.

2. A government–led planning and programming process with flexible funding and TA support.

3. A Turnkey model directly implemented by the Development Partners with weak linkages with the government system.

4. A hybrid model that follows the government planning and programming processes but with provision of alternative service delivery by local service providers. The other features of this model will be direct funding to DCCCS with or without re-election in the government budget.

The study compares and contrasts cases which have frameworks that support community initiatives; that strengthen access to new technologies and have decentralized service provision. The study recommends that flexibility and dynamism are vital for mainstreaming climate adaptation through a bottom-up planning process which has full participation of all stakeholders, local bodies, citizen forums, communities and development partners. The four case studies include PAF, SSMP, South Asia PCI and LGCDP. The LGCDP works within the government system, whereas SSMP aligns with the local bodies’ planning and funding system. The PAF provides funds directly to the communities and service providers but is reflected in the national budget books. The South Asia PCI is directly funded by the DFID Central Research Department and has links with national research and development systems, as policy support partners only, while activities are implemented through selected NGO partners.

ExECUTIvE SUMMARy

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Based on the findings, the following recommendations are made:

(i) An inclusive participatory bottom-up planning process involving the most vulnerable communities and other stakeholders at community level should be made mandatory. Guidelines and funds can be combined from different sources such NGOs, vDC, DDC and a national level climate change fund.

(ii) Flexibility of funding is required for the development and implementation of plans to ensure immediate impact, in the place of lengthy fund flow mechanisms. However, the funds need to be reflected in the national or local government budgets.

(iii) On-going monitoring, supervision and reporting mechanisms have to be in place, with indicators that are closely correlated with the District Planning, Monitoring and Analysis System (DPMAS) developed by NPC. This will include:

a. Regular review of progress at local and central level meetings, b. Joint monitoring involving all stakeholders including journalists, c. Periodic status reporting to the concerned higher level authorities.(iv) For maintaining greater accountability and transparency, the following measures have to be

internalized in the project cycle: a. Public and social audits, b. Public hearings, c. Citizens’ interaction and feedback, d. Making programmes and budgets public.

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executive Summary 29

table of Contents 31

1. background 33

2. objectives of the study 37

3. methodology 38 3.1 Desk review 38 3.2 Sharing of preliminary findings 38 3.3 Case Study 38 3.4 Limitations of the Study 38

4. Planning and budgeting practice 39 4.1 Option I. Programme that follows the government system 39

4.1.1 Guiding principles for planning and implementation 39 4.1.2 Local planning and budgeting processes for LAPA 40 4.1.3 Institutional arrangements 43 4.1.4 Points to be considered for effective NAPA and LAPA implementation

fund flow 45 4.1.5 Fund flow mechanisms 46 4.2 Option II. Government-led with donor technical and financial support 46 4.3 Option III. Turn key model (Direct Execution model) 47 4.4 Option Iv. Hybrid model 47

5. Arrangements for emergency operations 49

6. Case studies 50 6.1 Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) Nepal 50 6.2 RiUP South Asia Participatory Crop Improvement (SAPCI): Best Bets projects 51 6.3 Sustainable Soil Management Project (SSMP) 53 6.4 Local Governance and Community Development Project (LGCD) 55 6.5 In conclusion 56

7. overall Recommendations 57 Documents reviewed and consulted 57

9. Annexes 58-64

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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BACkGROUND

Nepal was portrayed as the fourth most vulnerable nation in terms of the adverse impacts of climate change in a report released in October 2010 by the Uk-based international risks advisory firm Maplecroft. The Climate Change vulnerability Index, compiled by Maplecroft, put Nepal in the extreme risk category, along with four other South Asian nations – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Bangladesh tops the list and India follows. Maplecroft stated that the index was intended as a guide for strategic investment and policy making. The index was based on 42 social, economic and environmental factors, including the responsiveness of government to assess the risks to population, ecosystems and business from climate change. The vulnerability to adverse impacts of climate change in Nepal and other South Asian countries, is due to high dependency on rain for cultivation, poverty and topography. While other South Asian nations will be affected by sea-level rises, Nepal will be largely affected by the melting of snow in the Himalayas and the changes in climatic patterns. The vulnerability index also takes into account the region’s poverty level, preparedness to combat impacts of climate change, and the high dependency on natural factors for food (http://bit.ly/depTkT).

Increasing greenhouse gas emissions and alarming rises in temperature have greatly affected the entire county. Erratic and torrential rains, resulting in severe floods, have affected human settlements, lives and properties, human and animal health, agriculture, water resources, biodiversity, other natural resources and physical infrastructure. Prolonged droughts have adversely affected crop production and vegetation. These erratic phenomena are also having immense impacts and posing challenges to overall ecosystems and national wellbeing, and as a result, peoples’ livelihoods are seriously threatened (Nepal NAPA, 2010).

Nepal’s climate is affected by the Himalayan range and the South Asian monsoon. Observed data indicate consistent warming and a rise in the maximum temperature at an annual rate of 0.04 – 0.06 0C. Studies also indicate that the observed warming trend is not uniform across the country. Warming is more pronounced in high altitude regions, in comparison with the Terai and Siwalik regions. The monsoon rain is most abundant in the east and declines westwards, while winter rains are higher in the northwest and decline south-eastwards. Temperatures tend to increase from north to south and with decreasing altitude. Rapid changes in temperature patterns and variability in the timing, intensity and form of precipitation, have already impacted agriculture and natural resources. Although there are fewer studies on the impacts on human and animal health, cases of natural disasters across Nepal have increased in recent years. Future climate induced changes are likely to exacerbate these impacts (Nepal NAPA, 2010).

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The impact of changing climate is highly visible in agricultural production; changing rainfall patterns are adversely affecting crops at emergence, during vegetative and reproductive growth stages, and grain filling, and thereby the entire crop productivity is greatly influenced. Because planting time is influenced by climatic conditions, changes have implications for cropping intensity and overall crop production per unit area. Thus, climate change poses an additional threat (and potentially a major barrier) to the already challenging development process in Nepal. For instance, in its most recent Three year Interim Plan, the Government of Nepal has identified poverty reduction and social inclusion as its development priorities. Poverty reduction and social inclusion interventions rely heavily on the sustainability, growth and equitable distribution of benefits within the key sectors that rural and urban livelihoods depend on. Given that the main impacts of climate change will be transmitted via primary sectors such as agriculture, water and forestry, the effectiveness and the sustainability of development interventions will largely depend on the extent to which these sectors and interventions address climate change.

Recognising the tremendous challenge of climate change the country is facing, the Government of Nepal (GoN) finalised and endorsed the NAPA document in September 2010. NAPA is a strategic framework to assess climatic vulnerability and systematically respond to the impacts of climate change by developing appropriate adaptation measures. For overseeing NAPA development, the Government has established a Climate Change Division within the Ministry of Environment, which has a mandate to coordinate the climate agenda in Nepal. The country also established a Climate Change Council (CCC) chaired by the Prime Minister, which provides high level political support and policy guidance to the climate agenda.

The process of prioritising and selecting climate adaptation actions was carefully adopted and made as consultative as was possible. A multi-criteria analysis was used in a step-wise process that culminated in identifying the most urgent and immediate climate adaptation actions according to national needs and interests. The prioritized adaptation options include both urgent/immediate and long term adaptation strategies in key vulnerable sectors under six thematic working groups. Emphasis has been given to providing information, knowledge, skills and technology to the most vulnerable households living in fragile and climate vulnerable districts across Nepal. The strategies and actions have been targeted to increase communities’ adaptive capacity through livelihoods support, improved governance, collective responses, improved service delivery, access to technology, and finance. A watershed and landscape level approach was suggested in dealing with issues related to food security, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, energy use, settlements, disease outbreaks and governance (Nepal NAPA, 2010).

The criteria to assess the urgent and immediate needs were applied in order to develop top-priority project profiles at the final prioritization workshop. There was strong convergence between several of the most urgent and immediate priority projects identified by individual thematic working groups. Thus it was agreed to combine priority activities and develop combined project profiles. The NAPA project team carried out an integrated ranking of priority activities and clustered these into nine combined project profiles. They are:

1. Promoting Community-based Adaptation through Integrated Management of the Agriculture, Water, Forest and Biodiversity Sectors.

2. Building and Enhancing Adaptive Capacity of vulnerable Communities through Improved Systems and Access

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to Services Related to Agricultural Development.

3. Community-based Disaster Management for Facilitating Climate Adaptation.

4. GLOF Monitoring and Disaster Risk Reduction.

5. Forest and Ecosystem Management for supporting Climate-led Adaptation Innovations.

6. Adapting to Climate Challenges in Public Health.

7. Ecosystem management for Climate Adaptation.

8. Empowering vulnerable Communities through Sustainable Management of Water Resource and Clean Energy Supply.

9. Promoting Climate-Smart Urban Settlements.

The total cost to implement these integrated adaptation measures is about USD 350 million (Nepal NAPA, 2010).

As climate adaptation has been recognised as a national priority, the NAPA process has to be fully integrated into national development processes so as to support climate vulnerable communities and contribute to climate-proof socioeconomic development. The GoN also recognises the lack of linkages between national and local level planning scales. In this context, the GoN has identified the need to develop Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs) as a means to mainstream climate change adaptation into development planning in a bottom-up manner.

The CADP-N has developed a framework for Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA) in line with the NAPA implementation framework, and is piloting the LAPA framework at the local level. This was initiated to find a way to address adaptation within Nepal’s wide diversity of ecosystems, microclimates, cultures and socioeconomic circumstances. These pilots should work within location specific adaption needs

and explore ways to bridge gaps between local to national levels in the formulation and implementation of adaptation plans.

It is envisaged that LAPA will complement the national level planning initiatives at the local level, and at the same time will provide a mechanism via which such local adaptation needs and capacities can be mainstreamed into development planning at micro, meso and macro levels.

The participants of the Inception Meeting of NAPA held in May 2009 emphasised that Nepal’s wide diversity of ecosystems, micro-climates, cultures and socio-economic circumstances demand a series of LAPAs (Regmi and karki, 2010). The suggestion was to prepare LAPA through a country-driven operational process, for the effective implementation of the most urgent and immediate adaptation needs as prioritised in the NAPA. It was envisaged that the national programme of adaptation would: be coherent with the priorities developed during the NAPA process; seek to channel financial resources to adaptation responses by many actors and agencies (public sector, civil societies and private sector); and be under the coordination of the government of Nepal’s climate focal point - the Ministry of Environment Nepal (NAPA, 2010).

The current situation in the country

Nepal is in transition. Following the Constitution Assembly election, the state has set three major priorities:(i) To bring the peace process in a logical

order,(ii) To promulgate the new constitution,(iii) To carry out important development

activities during the transition. The constitution assembly extended its one year term due to lack of clear understanding among the major political parties about

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the peace process, and the constitution writing process is still uncertain. The political uncertainty and frequent changes in government have destabilised the process further. Over the last five months, the country has been governed by a caretaker government. This has had a number implications including the failure to approve the budget and programme for the current fiscal year. virtually all of the development works are in stagnation. In some parts of the country, the security situation is not favourable for carrying out normal development activities. A high staff turnover is common, due to a lack of human resources at the operational level, low morale and motivation of the staff due to insecurity, and a lack of proper reward and punishment system. Similarly, since 2002, the non-existence of political representation at the local level has derailed the participatory planning process of local governments. The party political representation mechanism is non-accountable and legally only mandated for advisory functions. De

jure Local Development Officers (LDOs), vDC Secretaries and Municipal Executive Officers are authorised to run the local government, but in practice the all party political mechanism, which is supposed to simply play an advisory role, is influencing local government decisions. Several reports indicate high fiduciary risk, corrupt practices and the siphoning of financial resources for political gain, through a non-accountable political mechanism.

Several of the vDC Secretary positions (around 800) are vacant. Due to adverse security conditions in the villages, most of the Secretaries work from the District Headquarters. In this context, they are requesting the government to relieve them of their political role and limit them to their original roles.

Similarly, retention of LDOs and Executive Officers is also challenging, due to both security reasons and the frequent transfers caused by frequent changes in the government.

Mainstreaming climate adaptation into the bottom-up planning process is a national priority. The LAPA process would need to be mainstreamed and promoted in such a way that it guides the human development agenda of making socio-economic development climate-proof. This demands a holistic approach which integrates cross-sectoral efforts at all levels with the effective participation of communities, local governments, academia, civil society, youth organizations, women and grassroots organizations. The process must focus on the most vulnerable communities and their priorities be addressed urgently through a flexible LAPA implementation process. This would be applicable in the normal situation. However, since the country is in transition and facing several challenges, it is important that multiple strategies and options are in place to progress development processes such as LAPA at the local level.

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This study aimed to document the development planning processes at the national and local level. The assessment would enable the CADP-N team to identify entry points for mainstreaming climate change adaptation (CCA) into development planning processes, and to propose institutional and budgetary frameworks. The expected outputs of the study were:

• Thereviewanddocumentationofexistingnationalplanningandbudgetingsystems,highlighting the linkages with local planning.

• Apresentationoflocallevelframeworksofinclusiveparticipatoryplanningandbudgeting processes.

• Amapofthekeyinstitutionsinvolvedatthenationalandlocallevels.• Apresentationofcasestudiesoftheexistingbestpracticesoflocalplanning,budgeting

and implementation during the transition period. • Asummaryofplans,budgetarysupportandservicedeliverymechanismsforresponding

to the needs of vulnerable and poor people during emergencies and in the event of extreme climatic variations, e.g. loss of crops and livestock due to severe drought or floods.

• Explorationofthepossibilitiesofmainstreamingcrosscuttingissuessuchasenvironmental issues (e.g. climate change), gender and inclusion.

OBJECTIvES OF THE STUDy

METHODOLOGy

The study used the following approaches to complete the task.

3.1 Desk review and analysis: All the available published literature prevalent to the planning and budgeting processes, were reviewed and analyzed in relation to climate change adaptation with a focus on LAPA.

3.2 Sharing preliminary findings: The findings from the desk review were shared in a national workshop on the NAPA process held in August 2010. This workshop provided an excellent opportunity for interaction with key people from various major stakeholders, including government Ministries, Departments, NGOs, INGOs and POs. Discussion with participants provided insight into the issues related to planning and budgeting processes in relation to climate change adaptation (CCA). Similarly, the consultant participated in the field visit in Dhading and subsequent brainstorming sessions held at kurintar. Feedback and suggestions obtained during the process were incorporated into the document. Similarly, Consultant also participated in the field visit in Dhading and subsequent brainstorming sessions held at kurintar. All the important feedbacks and suggestions obtained during the process were incorporated in the document.

3.3 Case studies: Case studies of the planning and budgeting processes were identified and are presented in this report. This was done to explore the possibility of using the essence of current models for mainstreaming programmes and activities for the development of climate change adaption plans at local and national level, without losing flexibility and room for innovation.

3.4 Limitations of study: The study is based on a desk review and interactions. Interactions took place with experts, a community in Dhading district, and a few government line agency personnel in Dhading. Due to limited time the suggested strategies, concepts and policies of LAPA could not be piloted in the field context.

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PLANNING AND BUDGETING OPTIONS

After reviewing various relevant practices currently operating at local level, it was evident that there could be number of options for LAPA planning and budgeting. The following three options, however, seem most appropriate for mainstreaming LAPA, depending on the context:

4.1 Option I: A programme that follows the government system

The Ministry of Environment (MoE) is the Ministry with the mandate to coordinate the climate agenda in Nepal. It has created a new Climate Change Management Division, led by a Joint Secretary, to oversee and coordinate all climate change related programmes and activities. The Ministry envisages the following major roles in the context of NAPA and LAPA.

(i) The ownership and lead role of the Ministry is considered important for operationalizing NAPA and LAPA, it being the focal Ministry that guides central and local initiatives.

(ii) It will mainstream, coordinate and synergize all the climate change related programmes with the relevant actors and agencies at national and local level.

(iii) It will focus the nine NAPA project profiles through LAPA. (iv) It will channel all financial resources (pooled, non-pooled and TA) through one window.

4.1.1 Guiding principles for planning and implementationIn keeping with the context of Nepal, transitional implementation modalities would have to be adopted in a flexible, inclusive and participatory way to mainstream national strategies, with strong leadership from the government. The following steps would have to take place:

(i) A Strategic Medium Term Plan for NAPA would need to be developed and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) prepared on the basis of a periodic plan for climate change adaptation. On the basis of the periodic plans and MTEF, Annual Strategic Implementation plans for climate change adaptation would be prepared.

(ii) In the context LAPA, district and village level periodic plans and MTEFs would have to be reviewed (where they exist) and support given to prepare local Periodic Plans and MTEFs. Local Annual Strategic Implementation Plans for climate change adaptation would need to be formulated according to local Periodic Plans.

(iii) Preliminary budget ceilings and guidelines for central and district level annual plans would have to be prepared by the Ministry of Environment and submitted to National Planning Commission (NPC). After endorsement of the budget ceiling and guidelines by their Resource and Budget Committee, the NPC would issue a budget ceiling and guidelines to Ministry of Environment for preparing annual plans and budgets for central and district level activities.

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(iv) The MoE would consult the Apex Programme Steering Committee (APSC) and then allocate specific guidelines and budget ceilings for central, district and local level activities. Implementation guidelines and budget ceilings would be provided to the concerned line ministries and district level offices, with a copy to the District Development Committee (DDC) for planning purposes.

(v) The MoE would issue district level guidelines and budget ceilings to its district level offices (once they are in place) or designated offices, with copy to the DDC. District diversities would be addressed through specific guidelines issued for the local planning process.

4.1.2 Local planning and budgeting process for LAPA

A. Budget ceilings and guidelines (i) After receiving the budget ceiling and

guidelines from the MoE, the DDC would call a meeting of all the relevant stakeholders (e.g. LAPA Coordination Implementation Committee) to discuss and allocate the budget ceilings and guidelines for district and village/community level activities. The DDC and other stakeholders would also allocate their budgets and identify their priority areas in relation to climate change. This would lead to the development of a total basket of budget and programmes at the district level. The district would then allocate budget ceilings and guidelines to those vDCs which meet the basic criteria, as identified in a vulnerability assessment mapping (vAM) process, for addressing the adaptation priorities of the communities. The DDC could also prepare a responsibility matrix, allocating activities to relevant institutions and instructing planning.

(ii) After receiving the budget ceilings and guidelines from DDCs, the vDCs would call a meeting of all the stakeholders, including government line agencies,

NGOs and private sector organisations. They would discuss the budget ceilings and guidelines and instruct agencies to initiate community level adaptation planning and allocate budget ceilings for the most vulnerable communities. vDCs could also allocate funds from their block grants or source resources for climate change and create a total basket of investment for climate adaptation initiatives.

(iii) While initiating community planning, the district and vDC level agencies would have to seek synergy and avoid duplication.

B. Village level planning processThe steps and processes followed in the village level planning process are shown in Figure 1, (Annexure 1). The village planning would follow the steps and processes specified in LSGA/R from community citizen forums (Ward level), Ward Committees (once in place), Sectoral Plan Formulation committees, Integrated Plan Formulation Committees, to vDC village Councils. The vDC could form a special village level climate change coordination committee (vCCCC) for coordination and implementation of climate change activities at vDC level. The government is implementing social mobilization programmes in all vDCs and the 404 wards of various municipalities, through local service providers. Under this programme, the most disadvantaged families will be empowered to submit their priorities to local bodies. The empowered communities will be able to make the local bodies more responsive and accountable to communities. This is thus an opportunity for implementing LAPA at community level, through integrating their needs and priorities into the local planning process. The plan would pass through the CCICC before submission to the integrated plan formulation committee.

The provision of Citizen Forums is specifically created to fill the gap left by the current

41


absence of elected representatives. The other objective of the forum is to have wider citizen involvement in prioritization and planning, and for creating downward accountability, transparency and managing transition. The Citizen Forums would represent vulnerable communities, disadvantaged groups, women, Dalits, ethnic minorities and others according to the local community situation.

c. District level planning process All the steps and processes followed in the district level planning process are shown in Figure 2.

(i) The district level activities would be recommended through village councils, which are beyond the budget ceilings of vDCs and their functional and geographical jurisdiction.

(ii) DDCs would organize Ilaka level stakeholder meetings for prioritizing the adaptation recommendations of village councils and refer to the respective Plan Formulation Committees (PFC) for further prioritization within the specific areas and jurisdictions.

(iii) The PFC would recommend climate change related activities to the Climate Change Planning Coordination and Implementation Committee (CCPICC) for further screening against the guidelines and priorities. The CCPICC would prioritise the activities and make recommendations to the Integrated Planning Committee (IPC) of the DDC.

(iv) The Integrated Plan Formulation Committee would review all the planning proposals received from the PFC and CCPICC, and prioritise activities within the budget ceiling for district level implementation and higher level activities for incorporation into central level plans, and would submit to the DDC.

Figure 1. LAPA planning and implementation framework for village level

Ward citizenfourm

VdC level citizenforum

Sectoral Plan Formulationcommittees/ CCC

integrated plan formulationcommittees

implementationcommittees/ ccc

Village Council

monitoringCommittee

VdC

Community organisations anduser's groups

Community organisations anduser's groups

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

42


(v) The DDC would intensively discuss and prioritise the proposals received from IPCs and forward them to the district council. The district council would approve the district annual plans and budgets, and set priorities for central level activities, and make recommendations to the respective line Ministries.

d. Central level planning(i) The Ministry of Environment would

refer to the Programme Management Unit (PMU) for screening the local level priorities and recommendations of the districts councils to be incorporated into the central level plans. The PMU would prepare a draft ASIP for discussion on the APSC. The APSC would approve and prioritise central and district level activities within the thematic areas and submit them to the MoE.

(ii) The MoE would submit the proposal to the NPC within the stipulated time

under the budget guideline directives. At the NPC level, the proposals would be discussed thoroughly with the concerned stakeholders, including Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the proposals would be forwarded to the MoF by the NPC. Before the annual budget speech in the Parliament, the annual plans and budget would have to be endorsed by the MCCICC and CCC chaired by the Prime Minister.

The areas for central level activities for NAPA planning would concentrate on the recommendation of the district council and Thematic Working Groups (TWGs). However, the TWGs also have to consider the District Council recommendations. Inter-district priority areas may also be handled by central level agencies. All other activities have to be implemented through local level agencies. The central level agencies need to facilitate, monitor and give timely feedback

Figure 2. LAPA planning and implementation framework for district level

district Planning Process

integrated plan formulation committee

Civil society, communityorganisations, uGs

monitoringCommittee

implementationCommittees

CoordinationCommittees

ddC

district Council

iiaka level planfomulation committee

Sectoral plan formulationcommittees, Cross

cutting committees (CCC)

43


for smooth implementation of the local level activities.

The central level activities primarily focus on the areas listed below;• Policyformulation• Puttinginplacethelegalframework

(amending the existing or drafting new ones)

• Capacitydevelopmentbothatnationaland local level regarding:

a) innovation and research capacities on science, technology and development paradigms

b) Institutional capacity c) Individual capacity within the

institutions d) System-based capacity

e) Infrastructural and logistical capacity• Monitoringandevaluation• Settingstandards(qualitycontrol)

through procedural guidelines and institutional arrangements

The relations and linkages of local and central level planning and budgeting according to the participatory decentralized framework is shown in Annexure 1.

4.1.3 Institutional Arrangements

A. National level implementation arrangementsThe following councils, committees and agencies are directly involved in the planning, implementation and monitoring processes:

Figure 3a. A framework for NAPA implementation

Policy and Advisory Bodies (CCC and NPC)

ministry of environment as Focal ministry(CC Programme Coordination and monitoring unit)

implementing Line agency(ies)

Local agencies/NGo/Cbo

Planning and coordination at VdC/municipal level

Plan

ning

, mon

itori

ng a

nd re

port

ing

Self

mon

itori

ngan

d ev

alua

tion

Self

mon

itori

ngan

d ev

alua

tion

impl

emen

tatio

nFu

nctio

nal C

oord

inat

ion

Cent

ral C

oord

inat

ion

10%

of b

udge

t10

% o

f bud

get

80%

of b

udge

t

Programme/Project implementation through existingcommunity level organization/s like CFuG, different FGs,

irrigation Groups and other interest groups

Private Sector/s

district Coordination Committee (dCC)(at district development Committee to the extent possible)

Regional technical Support and Coordination units

MCCICC

Programme/Project Coordination Committee (PCC)

implementing Line ministry(ies)

Self

mon

itori

ngan

d ev

alua

tion

Source: MoEn, 2010

44


• ClimateChangeCouncil(CCC)chairedbyPrime Minister.

• NationalPlanningCommission(NPC)andMinistry of Finance (MoF).

• Multi-stakeholderClimateChangeImplementation Coordination Committee (MCCICC) representing NPC, MoF and all other relevant line Ministries, chaired by Minister of Environment, with representation from development partners.

• ApexProgrammeSteeringCommittee(APSC), chaired by the Secretary Ministry of Environment and with representatives from other relevant agencies at the national level.

• ProgrammeManagementCoordinationand Implementation Committee (PMCIC), chaired by the Joint Secretary of the MoE and the National Programme Director.

• ClimateChangeSupportUnit(CCSU)supported by development partners technically and financially.

• DevelopmentPartnerAdvisoryGroup.

A framework for NAPA implementation, as envisioned by Nepal government (Figure 3a), and a practical model, based on the NAPA implementation framework for the transition phase up to 2014 (Figure 3b), would be required to mobilize the stakeholders for climate change adaptation initiatives.

B. Institutional arrangements for programme implementation at local levelThe following would be in place for the implementation of adaptation plans and interventions at the local level:

Figure 3b. NAPA implementation framework during transition phase

mCCiCCCCC - Pm chair

dFid, eu

Finance ministry & NPC

Line ministries

ministry of environment

Climate ChangeSupport unit CCS PSC PSC 2 PSC 3 PSC 4

Climate Changemanagement division

Civil society and privatesector service providers

district Climate Change Coordination

Committees Support unit

Line Agencies

Local Adaptation Plans of Action & local climate adapatation & low emissions initiatives

Apex Programme Steering Committee

45


1. DDCs and vDCs would be made the focal agencies.

2. District Environment and Energy units of the Ministry of Environment would be strengthened and re-oriented to address climate change issues.

3. Where the Environment and Energy unit of the Ministry is not in existence, any line agency would be authorized to act as Secretariat of the District Coordination Implementation Committee on climate change, at the request of the district coordination committee.

4. District and village level Coordination Committees would be established with the representation of the relevant stakeholders (line agencies such as agriculture, forest and public health, representatives of civil society, NGOs, private sector, disadvantaged groups, vDCs, technical assistance team), and chaired by the DDC Chairperson/Local Development Officer and vDC Chairperson/Secretary respectively.

5. In order to be flexible and have a quick impact, some adaptation activities could be contracted out to NGOs and private sector actors. Selection criteria would be developed for potential implementing partners and public procurement rules could be followed for a competitive bidding process.

6. While implementing adaptation measures, the respective communities would be fully involved in every step of the planning cycle including implementation through user committees directly formed by the target groups. The capacities of the communities and user committees would be enhanced during implementation.

7. The relevant government line agencies could also be involved in implementation of the activities.

8. Technical assistance would be needed for smooth implementation of programme activities.

4.1.4 Points to be considered for effective NAPA and LAPA implementation• AquickSWOTanalysisofallpotential

implementing partners is recommended for mitigating potential fiduciary and other risks. This assessment should form a regular process while apprising annual strategic implementation plans.

• Transparency,accountabilityandfinancialintegrity have to be fully maintained through public hearings, social auditing, regular internal and external auditing and immediate follow-up of any audit objections and grievances.

• Themaximumuseshouldbemadeofexisting coordination mechanisms and institutions, rather than creating new ones.

• Alignmentwiththegovernment’sexisting systems and procedures is suggested, and if necessary changes can be made following experience from field implementation.

• Establishmentofaprocess-ledapproachis advised for all steps and actions of NAPA and LAPA.

• Itisimportanttoavoidtheoverlaporduplication of programme activities.

•Potentialconflictisavoidedbydemarcating central level and local level activities through a clear logframe (with a matrix of programme activities and responsibility) and seeking complementarity.

• Crossboundaryactivitiescanbeundertaken by higher level bodies.

• Partnershipshouldbebuiltwithcivilsociety, the private sector, academia and development partners for effective programme planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and maintaining transparency and accountability.

• Technicalguidanceisnecessarythroughout the transition phase to mainstream climate change issues by integrating them with other cross-cutting themes (e.g. gender, social inclusion,

46


environment) within the regular programme activities. However, the special programmes prioritized by the thematic groups can be implemented through line ministries, involving them in all steps of the planning process so that they own the programme and do not see it as an extra burden. In the long run these activities will have to be internalized to ensure continuity through the regular planning process.

• Theflexibilityforcontractingoutorusingother options for implementation would need to be in place for the programme to be dynamic and output oriented.

4.1.5 Fund flow mechanismsA national climate change fund (CCF) would be established at the central level within the Ministry of Environment. All climate change related funds would comprise pooled or non-pooled funds from government, donor partners and the private sector. The technical assistance fund will also be reflected through the CCF. The pooled and non-pooled donors could enter into agreement with the government for Joint Financing Arrangements (JFA) (Figure 4) or could define their funding modalities.

• Theplannedbudgetwouldbereflectedin the government budget book. However, the flexibilities of technical

assistance would be maintained for fund flow mechanisms, as agreed with the government.

• Centralandbudgetarysupportwouldbe borne by the CCF with proper authorization routes: Ministry of Finance − Ministry of Environment − (a) to line Ministries for central level activities, (b) to DDCs for district and local level activities, and (C) to Energy and Environment Unit or any assigned unit.

• TheDDCswouldbeauthorisedbytherespective line agencies or Energy and Environment unit upon the request of Coordination Committee, and the member Secretary of the respective line agencies would manage the funds according to the decisions of the coordination committee.

• TheDDCsandVDCscouldchannelresources from their block grants and their on-source revenues for climate change related activities.

• VDClevelfundswouldbechannelledafter analyzing a vDC’s capacity and track record of past fund management. Fund flow mechanisms for vDCs will be decided by the District Coordination Committee in order to ensure an immediate response to climate vulnerable communities.

• Atechnicalassistanceteamwouldappraise the situation before decisions are made at the Coordination Committee.

• Reportingandfinancialauditingmechanisms would be according to the government financial rules, regulations and systems.

4.2 Option II. Government-led with Donor Partner Technical and Financial Support

The government would lead the LAPA development and implementation process with the technical and financial support

Figure 4. Donor funding models under Climate Change funds

Pooled donors,basket funding

Basket, ear marked fund

cdta/dev

ta, Prog. coord

support outside ofthe programme

others

47


from donor partnerships. The details are as follows:

(i) The planning processes would be adopted following the steps and processes of normal government planning. This would have to comply with the principles of fund allocation criteria that 20% funds are used at the centre and 80% are spent at the local level.

(ii) Institutional structure would be same as option 1 above, however the funding would be channelled directly from donor partners to TA or reflected in the Red Book and implemented and facilitated by TAs. In this model also, the Joint Secretary of MoE would be assigned as Programme Director (PD), and the Team Leader of the TA Team would be the Programme Manager (PM). Funds would flow with the joint signatures of PD & PM. This is a NEx (Nationally Executed Programme) model of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/UNCDF (United Nations Capital Development fund). This approach would increase the ownership and stake of the government in the adaptation programme.

(iii) The reporting and financial auditing mechanisms could either follow the government system or, with the consent of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), an External Auditor could be appointed, but the audit report would have to be submitted to the OAG.

4.3 Option III. Turnkey model

LAPA development and implementation would be in close association with government agencies, but directly implemented by TA Teams. This could follow the model practiced by CADP-N or the DFID-supported Rural Access Programme (RAP) or the UN directly funded (DEx) model. This is the most flexible but also least sustainable option.

4.4 Option IV. Hybrid model

The country’s present situation and uncertainties are not fully favourable for the implementation of the processes in option 1. In this context, a model is envisaged with provision for alternative service delivery, where the management can choose options according to the local situation. For a quick response to vulnerable communities, certain processes may not be feasible to comply with. The central level project steering committee would guide the development of policies and strategies for the delivery of the project. A Management Committee would need to be constituted for day-to-day management of the programme. The Steering Committee would select Technical Agencies (TAs) to provide technical assistance for project implementation and fund management. This could be done following either on-budget or off-budget processes, as agreed with the government in accordance with the project documents.

At district level, the district climate change coordination committee (DCCCC), chaired by LDO, could also have the flexibility to hire local implementing partners and directly channel funds to the implementing partners for service delivery to the target communities. The composition of the DCCCC would be as described in option I above. Upon the request of the DCCCC, a project implementation unit would be established, either comprising line agencies or by establishing a unit that deals with climate change at the local level. The implementing partners would identify and prioritize adaptation needs with communities, and submit them to the DCCCC for approval. The approved plans would be shared with the vDCs during implementation by the DCCCC. Supervision and monitoring responsibilities would lie with the DCCCC. The DCCCC would also be responsible for the submission of periodic reports to central

48


level steering and management committees (Figure 5). The auditing of funds would be conducted according to the agreement with the government. The implementing partners would coordinate with vDCs and Municipalities while implementing adaptation activities. The DCCCC would coordinate the district level agencies.

Recent changes in fund flow mechanisms:The government of Nepal (GoN) has established a treasury system for funding of government budgets. The DTCO office

controls the fund. The line agencies of the government ministries request the DTCO for issuance of the cheque for the payment of bills and DTCO issues the Cheque in favour of the party directly. The concerned party receives payments from the appropriate line agencies. This system resolves the issues of non-settlement of accounts.

Similarly, the DTCO issues cheques to the DDC to deposit in a ‘Ga’ account directly, instead of a ‘kha’ account as used previously. The DDC controls the account. Hence, the GoN financing and LBs’ financing differs slightly here.

Figure 5. Flexible project implementation models for managing transitional climate change funds

ministry of environment

Project Steering Committee

Project managementCommittee

technical Assistance

district CCiCCtA

municipalities

Communities

implementing Partner Agencies

implementing Agencies

ddC

Loca

l lev

el

Cent

ral l

evel

VdC

49

ARRANGEMENTS FOR EMERGENCy OPERATIONS

The legal framework for emergency relief and operations, with its Acts, Rules and Guidelines, is in place. In emergencies, the normal planning process is more or less bypassed. For Emergency Relief and Operations, separate committees exist at national, central and local levels. The national Disaster Management Committee (NDMC) is formed under the chairpersonship of the Prime Minister, and has representatives from all the relevant Government line agencies including the security agencies, NGOs, Civil societies and the private sector. This committee is responsible for the formulation of policies and provision of directives to the relevant agencies at central and local level. A national level fund is established, called the Prime Minister Disaster Management Fund for Emergency Relief and Operations. The fund is operated according to decisions made by the committee. For medium term assignments and expenditure, the fund is managed by a sub-committee chaired by the vice Chairperson of the NPC.

Similarly, the Home Ministry is the focal ministry for emergency relief and disaster management at the central level. Most of the activities are coordinated and mobilized by the Home Ministry. In case of endemic disaster, all the relevant agencies and resources, including security agencies, can be mobilized if necessary. A quick vulnerability or loss assessment is carried out and emergency plans are prepared by local level disaster management committees and submitted to central level committees for funding.

At the local level, the Disaster Management Committee is chaired by the Chief District Officer and all the relevant agencies are represented, including the Local Bodies. Emergency operations needing immediate response are mobilized through the Emergency Relief team. Short term and medium term operations are implemented through the relevant agencies, civil societies, Red Cross and security agencies according to the nature of the incidence. In the case of severe drought and flood, the damage and loss is assessed and compensated through relief measures. The disaster relief agencies prepare plans quickly and then operations begin immediately. A responsibility matrix is prepared. The funds are mobilized through national agencies, citizen forums, civil societies and private sector organisations, including international agencies. Relief items and cash flow to the affected areas using the appropriate channels.

Generally, preventive measures are undertaken by development agencies, and relief measures by security agencies. Provisions are made in the LBs block grant guidelines to set aside a budget for disaster management, which is deposited in a separate fund established at the respective LB level. Emergency and short term operations are undertaken through the relief fund, and medium and long term projects are undertaken by the relevant line ministries or departments, as a priority under their normal programs.

CASE STUDIES

6.1 The Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), Nepal

Type of Initiation: The PAF was established by the Government of Nepal as a separate entity by an ordinance in 2060 (2003), to develop and implement programmes that address the issues and problems of the lower rung of society by involving poor and disadvantaged groups themselves as partners in such efforts.

Purpose: To reduce extreme forms of poverty from programme districts.

Planning and Implementation Process: The PAF adopted a demand-led community-based approach to alleviating poverty. Target communities plan and prioritize activities on the basis of their capacity and the local resource potential. It encourages local communities to take initiatives to improve their livelihoods, particularly through organizing them into community organizations.

Fund Flow Mechanism: The PAF developed a direct funding mechanism for the effective implementation of development projects identified by communities. The Capacity Development Fund is channelled through Implementing Partner Organizations (IPOs), which are identified through competitive tendering. They are responsible for facilitation, target group identification, group formation, capacity development, empowerment, coordination and linkages, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.

The funds are channelled in two ways. The costs for facilitation, capacity development and other roles of IPOs are transferred to the IPOs. The actual community development programme costs are channelled to the bank accounts of community organizations, after their proposals have been assessed by IPOs and approved by Portfolio Managers (PFMs) (Figure 6).

Monitoring evaluation, coordination and reporting: Monitoring of community organization is done by the IPO while the monitoring of implementing partners is carried out by the PAF Portfolio Manager (PM). Recently PAF signed an MoU with the Ministry of Local Development for a programme with local governments and LGCDP to improve coordination and linkages while implementing targeted poverty alleviation improvement initiatives at the local level, including at the planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and review stages. This arrangement will avoid duplication and overlapping and bring synergy at the local level. Similarly, PAF has recently signed an agreement with the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) for building public private-partnership at local level for local economic enterprise development activities. It will enhance the joint planning and monitoring culture at the local level and directly-funded programmes will be accountable to local bodies as well as local people.

50

Figure 6: The fund flow modality of PAF with Community Organisations

Source: PAF, 2010

PAF main Account

PAF main Account

Community Nonoperating Account

Co Leveldistrict

Pos provide tA to CosCommunity

operating Account

PAF main Account

PAF CentralLevel

Community Contribution

Financial Auditing: PAF maintains transparency in technical and financial processes through initiating social audits, periodically maintaining displays based at the project sites.

Impact assessment: PAF conducted an impact study in 2009. PAF benefitted 302, 862 poor households, of which nearly 66% are defined as very poor, 25.4% as medium poor, 8.6 as poor 0.2% as marginal non-poor.

6.2 Research into Use Programme (RiUP) South Asia Participatory Crop Improvement (SAPCI) Best Bets projects

Type of Initiative: This is an Interim Program of the Department for International Development (DFID), under the banner of Research into Use Programme (RiUP). It was designed to scale up Best Bets identified from the DFID-funded Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy (RNRRS) programme. Projects were awarded through global tendering. The projects referred herein are better known as the South Asia Best Bets.

Purposes: Significant use of RNRRS and other natural resource research outputs for the benefit (direct/in-direct) of poor men and women in diverse contexts.

Planning Process: These are projects awarded through global tendering and most of the activities are determined during the bidding stage. Six monthly and annual reviews and planning events are done to incorporate best practices, new learning and any modifications needed. Planning events are attended by the all implementation partners, and other stakeholders are invited in support of the scaling-up strategies.

Implementation modality: A consortium of the major implementing agencies is decided during the bidding phase. Credible and professional NGOs are identified through a rigorous selection process. For example, in Nepal South Asia PCI projects are implemented by FORWARD, LI-BIRD, and SUPPORT Foundation, while the District Agriculture Development Offices (DADO) of the Department of Agriculture and Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) provide specific services and act as intermediaries.

51


52


Fund Flow Mechanism: These initiatives come under off-budget and directly-funded projects. Natural Resources International Pvt. Ltd handles the budget on behalf of DFID. The funds are directly transferred to lead agencies such as FOREWARD and LI-BIRD, and they in turn disburse money to other implementing partners and intermediary organisations (Figure 7).

Financial Auditing: Strong financial auditing is in place. Regular audits by all the implementing partners and the auditing of sampled expenditure by Natural Resources International take place.

Monitoring and Evaluation and Reporting: A strong built-in monitoring and evaluation system is in place. Joint monitoring is done regularly, involving all the important stakeholders in the value

chain. The project has resident staff in the field and a major part of their role is the regular monitoring of activities on the ground. Monitoring and Evaluation is also done by the Centre for Advanced Research in International Agricultural Development (CARIAD), Bangor University, Uk , Technical Assistance to the initiative.

Reporting on technical and financial progress is done quarterly, and an Annual Report is produced at the end of the year. In addition to technical and financial reporting the following aspects are included:• PublicationsandMediacoverage• Issuesformanagementconsideration• Externalimpacts• Lessonslearnt(a)Technicallearning(b)

Process learning• Successstores• In-depthcasestudies

Figure 7. Implementation modality and fund flow mechanism for DFID Central Research Department funded RiUP South Asia PCI programme

dFid CRd, uK

FORWARD

Lead agencies in Nepal

NARC

SeAN

FoRWARd

Collaborators

infomediary

Communities

implementing agencies

LI - BIRD

Li - biRd SuPPoRtFoundation

doA

ANRoPi

Pvt. Companies

targeted to reach to 200,000 households in Nepal

Awarded 13 best proposals in Asia

Global tendering for PCN

dFid Research into use

directFunding

53


Impact Outcome and Impact Assessment: An outcome assessment is undertaken at the end of each season on a certain percentage of randomly selected households, to get feedback on the appropriate uptake, acceptance and adoption of the technologies. Findings from these assessments provide evidence for the appropriateness of the technologies. External impact assessments and process documentation are also carried out.

6.3 Sustainable Soil Management Project (SSMP)

A schematic representation of the Sustainable Soil Management (SSMP) implementation modality, fund flow mechanism, service provision and monitoring and evaluation adopted under Phase III and Phase Iv, is presented in figures 8 and 9.

Type of initiative: This is a decentralized, integrated sustainable soil management programme operated jointly by GoN and SDC/ Helvetas at local the level.

Objective/Purpose: Improve the livelihoods of households in the middle hills of Nepal by the promotion of sustainable soil management practices and their diffusion in a locally based extension system.

Funding Mechanism: The SSMP uses a competitive grant scheme (CGS) to disburse funds locally for implementing extension services. Currently there are suggestions that the CGS is made more of a process of ‘strategic decentralization’ in the coming phase, whereby vDCs will be involved in implementation through Agriculture Development committees (ADCs) at the village level. Technical backstopping will be provided by the Collaborating Institutions (CIs) and DADOs. The funding will be channelled from DADF to vDCs. SSMP uses a ‘Service Contract’ model in which tenders are evaluated primarily against the potential capacity and ability of the service provider to deliver a set of services defined by the SSMP.

Implementation Modality: The SSMP has a decentralized, farmer-led, locally-responsive and integrated approach to the

Figure 8. Implementation modality, fund flow mechanism, service provisions and monitoring and evaluation in SSMP III

Source: Adapted from SSMP III External Review Report, 2009

Civil Sec

beNiFiCiALieS

PRoVideRS

eNAbLeRS

Cord CiddC

FmC

Pmu-d

FCs

eLFsCteVt

Collaborating

institutions

dAdos, NGos etc

Services

m&e

Fund

trainers

moAC, doA,dAdo, NGos

Pmu-KtC

SSmP iiiCGS Programme

54


SSmP iiiCGS Programme Civil Sec

beNiFiCiALieS

VdC F&F

Program

PRoVideRS

eNAbLeRS

Cord Ci

ddC

FmC

Pmu-d

FCs

FCs Network

eLFsCteVt

Collaborating

institutions

dAdos, NGos etc

trainers

moAC, doA,dAdo, NGos

?? Gov & inst

Advisor

Pmu-K tC

Services

m&e

Fund

info

development and dissemination of practices. (These include improvements in the methods of manure preparation and application, use of liquid manure, legume cropping, agroforestry, and plantation of fodder trees and grasses on private land).This approach involves contracting government organization (GOs) and NGOs as Collaborating Institutions (CIs) through a competitive grant system (CGS) to provide a SSMP based extension service to farmers groups.

Monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment and reporting: The SSMP uses joint monitoring that involves important stakeholders such as CIs, Journalists, civil society organisations, political party representatives, local bodies and agriculture officials. SSMP professionals along with officials from Department of Agriculture also

undertake regular monitoring, while periodic evaluation at the middle and end of the project phase is carried out by external evaluators.

Reporting is done quarterly and annually. The Collaborating Institutions report to DADOs and SSMP, and the SSMP compiles and forwards information to the steering committee Secretary, MoAC, DoA, SDC and Helvetas.

Impact Assessment: The SSMP periodically conducts adoption and impact assessments. Several adoption and impact studies and reviews have been commissioned by SSMP, to improve the effectiveness and delivery mechanism of the programme.

Financial Auditing: Periodic internal and external audits are carried out by following SDC/Helvetas standard norms.

Source: Adapted from SSMP III External Review Report, 2009

Figure 9. Implementation modality, fund flow mechanism, service provisions and monitoring and evaluation in SSMP Iv

55


6.4 Local Governance and Community Development Programme (LGCDP)

Type of initiative: LGCDP is a government-led programme supported by 14 development partners (DPs) harmonized in the spirit of the Paris Declaration, and designed to contribute to poverty reduction, peace building in a post-conflict context, delivery of basic public goods and services, and providing desired services such as collective infrastructure, livelihood options and other services, especially to disadvantaged and excluded communities in rural and urban areas of Nepal.

Objectives/Purposes1: LGCDP’s purpose is to improve access to locally and inclusively prioritized public goods and services. This is achieved through both supply and demand side interventions; specifically, through integrating mechanisms for the exercise of shared community decision rights over the block grant allocations for service delivery and clear community oversight responsibilities into the local government system. The programme will contribute to the overall state restructuring process by making the state at the local level more accountable to people in respect to the allocation of discretionary fiscal resources, increased block grants and own-

1 Adapted from LGCDP Programme Document

Figure 10. Fund flow mechanism for block grant in LGCDP

ddCmunicipality

Kha accounts

moF

mLd

Cos / Pvt. Sector

FCGoKa accounts

central Bank

fund flow

funds

fund flow

ga 5 accounts will not be zero at the fY end , but will be zero when everproject completes

reports

reports

reports

copy of authorisation

instruction

reports

dtCoKa accounts

dPs

VdC/VdF

funds ga 2.1currentexp.account

ga 4Vdf

operating accounts

ga 4 non-operating accounts

ga 3depositaccount

ga 2.2capitalexp.account

clearance

letter

reports

fund flow

fund flow

fund flow

request letters

reports

reports

instruction

copy of authorisation

authorisation

total

authoris

ation

ddF\mdF

fund flow

funds funds

ga 4.1currentaccount

ga 4.3own sourcerevenue

ga 4.4revenuesharing

ga 4.5income /loan fromdonors

ga 4.6internal loan and Misc

ga 2.1currentexp.account

ga 2.3ldf adm.exp.account

ga 3depositaccount

ga 4 non-operating accounts

ga 2 operating accounts

ga 5

ga 4.2capitalaccount

ga 2.2capitalexp.account

accounts that will be zero at

the fY end

accounts that will not be zero

at the fY end

Source: LGCDP, 2008

56


source revenues. The public finance aspects of local government will be integrated with community participation and community led initiatives to create a state-citizen interface for nation building. The capacities of the demand side (ie community groups, particularly disadvantaged groups) and supply side (ie national and local level institutions related to service delivery and oversight agencies) are enhanced through program interventions.

Planning Process: LGCDP follows completely demand-led, inclusive, decentralized participatory planning process as specified in LSGA/R.

Fund Flow Mechanism: LGCDP National Advisory committee approves the annual indicative plan, budget and block grant allocation of the programme. Fund flow and allocation is according to the JFA and programme implementation guidelines. Harmonized funding modalities are in place, from donor partners with JFA signatories, such as pool basket funding through the government Treasury system to LB accounts, TA pool fund, TA and aligned funding modalities coordinated at the central and local level (Figures 10).

Monitoring and evaluation: LGCDP uses a performance monitoring and evaluation system. GESI issues are integrated into the local governance performance monitoring and evaluation system, with use of GESI sensitivity indicators, and gender and other socially disaggregated data. On-the ground monitoring and mentoring is done by roving support and monitoring teams from the centre, consisting of key MLD/PCU and line agency staff. These teams operate under the supervision of MLD and the central LGCDP team. Decentralized monitoring mechanisms are in place for use from user group level to LB level. Transparency and accountability exist through social auditing, public audits and public hearing systems at the different

levels. An internal audit is carried out by the Internal Auditors of DDCs and Municipalities, and a final audit is done by the Office of the Auditor General and Independent external auditors. A Local Government Accountability Facility (LGAF) is established for maintaining transparency and accountability. A Quality Assurance Mechanism (QAM) is also in place for quality assurance and fund tracking.

Reporting: There is a robust system for physical progress reporting linked to a facility/office in MLD. The progress, efficiency and effectiveness of the project is monitored through a regular monthly, trimesterly and annual reporting. The LGCDP will publish annual reports that cover both physical and financial progress and include major achievements.

Outcome and impact assessment: A mid-term review of the programme was recently carried out by an independent review team. An outcome assessment will be done at the end of the current programme phase.

6.5 In conclusion

All the above mechanisms are currently in place at the local level, but with differing modalities as they vary in planning resource disbursement and implementation. Some of these models are closely linked and work with the DDCs or line agencies at the local level, whilst others follow the processes of local bodies. Each model has its own strengths and weaknesses. The models that follow local government processes face delays in implementation and reporting, whereas those with greater flexibility produce immediate outputs and outcomes, but are less likely to be replicable and sustainable. But there are strong cases for some of these to be appropriate for LAPA implementation, e.g. the SSMP model for the transition period.

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OvERALL RECOMMENDATIONS

In the long run, once the transition phase is over and locally elected bodies are in place, government processes and systems would need to be adopted. However, for the transition phase and for creating quick impacts, flexible fund flow mechanisms could be adopted with consideration of the following points:(i) An inclusive, participatory, bottom-up planning process that involves the most vulnerable

communities and other stakeholders at community level, should be made mandatory. However, guidelines and funds can be combined from different sources, such NGOs, vDC, DDC and a national climate change fund.

(ii) Flexibility of funding of the plan maintains support to bring about immediate impact, rather than indulging in lengthy fund flow mechanisms. However, the funds have to be reflected in the national or local government budgets.

(iii) On-going monitoring, supervision and reporting mechanisms have to correlate closely with the District Planning, Monitoring and Analysis System (DPMAS) developed by the NPC. This will include:

a. Regular reviews of progress at local and central level meetings, b. Joint monitoring involving all stakeholders and journalists, c. Periodic status reporting to the concerned higher level authorities.(iv) For ensuring greater accountability and transparency the following measures have to be

internalized in the project cycle: a. Public and social audits, b. Public hearings, c. Citizen’s interaction and feedback, d. Making programmes and budgets public.

Documents reviewed and consulted

Budget Formulation Guidelines 2008 (2064), Ministry of Finance Nepal. Interim Constitution of Nepal (2007), kathmandu, Nepal.Local Governance and Community Development Programme Document 2008.MoEn, (2010), National Adaptation Programme of Action to climate Change. kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Environment, pp. 96.Nepal Local bodies Financial Administration Rules 2007.Nepal Local self governance Act 1999. Nepal Local Self governance rules 2000 with amendments . NPC (2009), Three year Plan Document. kathmandu, Nepal: National planning CommissionSSMP (2009). Sustainable Soil Management Programme (SSMP) Phase III, External Reviewwww. http:/bit.ly/deepTkTwww.pafnepal.org.npwww.researchintouse.com

ANNEx 1. THE PROCESS AND STEPS OF THE ANNUAL PLANNING PROCESS ADOPTED IN NEPAL

National Planning Commission ministry of Finance

Parliament

Families/ Families/ Families

Community/Settlement level

Federation /CmC Ward Civil Society Forum

time Frame Family

budget Ceiling/Guildelines

Flow/time

VdC/municipalityLevel

budg

et C

eilin

g/G

uide

lines

budg

et C

eilin

g/G

uide

lines

Kartikmasanta

VdC/municipality Civil Society Forum

integrated Planning Forum

Ward Committees

VdC/municipality

Village/municipal Council

integrated Plan Formulation Committee

district development Committee

Sectoral ministry

Asadh

baisakh

Poush masanta

Falgun masanta

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

district Council

Sectoral Plan Formulation Committees

Cross-Cutting Committees

illaka Level

58

Process and Steps of the Local Level Annual Planning Process

1 Budget Ceiling and Guidelines

1.1.1 “An estimation of the means or resources to be made available to different districts in respective sect oral or block allocation for the forthcoming Fiscal year as per National Development Policy related there with and the priority and other guidelines, if any, shall have to be provided for the formulation of the District Development Plans. The national Planning Commission (NPC) shall have to determine the estimation of means and guidelines to be so provided on the basis of the goals of the periodic plans of each district and give direction to the sect oral Ministries.” (Clause 203)

1.1.2 The concerned Ministry shall have to send the Local Body the estimation of the grant to be provided for the programs of the forthcoming years of the Local Body within the month of kartik” [Clause 243 (2)].

1.1.3 “The Ministry of Local Development shall have to send annual grants to be sent to Local Body without indicating any subject [243 (4)].”

1.1.4 The DDC has to estimate the projections of its own source of income and other possible sources in terms of programmed or non programmed budget to be possibly received through DPs/ I/NGOs and other sources other than central transfers, Amount to be received from Revenue sharing sources, and any other possible sources

1.1.5 “In formulating the District Development Plan, the DDC shall have to render necessary contribution to the annual development program to be prepared by the village council and the Municipal council [203 (2)].”

1.1.6 “In formulating the integrated District Development Plan, coordination meeting of Governmental and Non-governmental and other related organizations should be organized and coordination should be maintained for the projections of the resources that to be invested in coming fiscal year.”

1.1.7 “This meeting should also decide sector wise/vDC/Municipality wise allocations as well.”

1.1.8 The vDC/Municipality shall required to obtain the guidance and prior estimation of the resources and means from DDC and other concerned agencies for the forthcoming Fiscal year until the month of Marga (November-December) [43 (5a), 111 (5a)].

ANNEx2. ELABORATION OF ANNExURE-1

59

60


The vDC/Municipality shall have to provide guidance on selection of projects and formulation of plans to different ward committees [43 (5a), 111 (5a)].

While deciding the budget ceilings for vDC/Municipal Level investments they also have to calculate their potential revenue and other grant resources, programmatic or Non programmatic grant and other income sources to be invested within their boundaries.

For this vDC and Municipalities have to organize stake holders meeting for resource calculations

1.1.9 The projects which are under operation shall have to be invited from the ward committees, users committees and NGOs in the vDC/Municipality area [43 (5b), 111 (5b)].

1.1.10 In formulating annual plans, following matters shall have to be taken as the basis; •DirectivesreceivedfromtheNPC/DDConNationalDevelopmentPolicy. •Overallnecessitiesindicatedbyperiodicplans[43(7),111(7)].

1.1.11 The vDC/Municipalities has also forecast their own income and other resources while preparing the plans.

.1.1.12 The concerned Ministry has to classify their activity according to village/Municipality and District levels.

2. The inclusive, participatory, bottom up planning process (BUP) outlined as LSGA/R

A) VDC Level PlanningThe following are the steps and processes of vDC level inclusive, participatory, bottom up planning process:

2.1 On the basis of resource projections forecast, policy/ guidelines/ and priorities, the community organization (CO’s)/ users group (UG’s), NGO’s / Line agencies has to initiate planning at community level. The activities have to be classified in three categories,

a. Can be completed/ performed by communities by themselves b. Activities within the ceiling of vDC/ Municipalities c. Activities to be referred to district/central level. The local communities have to priorities their projects/programs and forward to ward

level citizen forum and this forum again review the proposals and priorities and submit to ward committees (if in existence) otherwise submit to vDC/Municipal level Citizen Forums

The ward committee has to prioritize community/settlement level sector wise activities and fix priority and refer to vDC.

The vDC/Municipal level citizen forum has also prioritized the programs and projects and refer sector wise and submit to Integrate committees.

61


The integrate committee has to synergize the program/ projects both from citizen forums and ward committees and seek the backward and forward linkages and submit the proposal to concerned vDC/Municipalities

2.2 The vDC/municipality may organize meetings of LA’s/NGO’s/Private sector and CO’s representatives, member of integrated (advisory) committee, if any, and prepare a comprehensive plan to be approved by respective committee/Board.

2.3 The vDC/municipality has to classify activities within their jurisdiction /resource capacity and the programs and projects that to be referred for DDC/central level and submit to their respective councils.

2.4 The village/municipal councils have to approve the plans programs within their jurisdiction and budget ceiling .The remaining programs of district/central level have to be prioritized and recommended to Illaka level- by the end of Poush.

B) District Level planning process:The following are the steps and processes of District level Inclusive, participatory planning process:

2.5 The Illaka level committee has to prioritize activities according to policy guidelines/resources and recommend to concerned sector-wise plan formulation committees.

2.6 The respective plan formulation committee has again to prioritize and recommend to DDC.

2.7 The DDC has to call integrated committee meeting and seek complementarily synergy, to avoid duplication /overlapping in the received proposals and recommend to DDC. The integrated plan formulation committees are recently reformulated to make them more representative by including the representatives of all Disadvantaged groups, civil society and private sector.

2.8 The DDC has to categorize as district/ central level programs and has to recommend for approval of district level programs to the district council.

2.9 The district council approves the district plan and recommend for central level activities with priorities to concerned Ministries for central level consideration (by Falgun masanta)

C) Central level planning process:2.10 The respective/ concerned ministry has to check district plan, together they are within

budget ceiling guidelines or complement to National Policy or not. If they are not within guideline then issue directive/comments to concerned DDC and consider the central level activities and clear central level activities and recommend to NPC by Chaitra.

2.11 The NPC has to finalize the central plans and issue direction, if any, to districts regarding district level plans.

2.12 The NPC has to approve central plans and submit to Ministry of Finance/ Parliament.

2.13 The Parliament approves plan and budget.

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D) Local Plan Implementation process:2.14 The MoF issues authorization letters to concerned Ministries and for non conditional

block grants directly to DDCs and Municipalities

2.15 The concerned ministries have to authorize to complement the plan, if any, corrections; they have to issue direction for correction.

2.16 According to authorizations at the local level they prepare the calendar of operation and implement their activities according to their responsibility Matrix by line agencies, NGOs and users groups.

2.17 Periodic monitoring, reporting, review, social and public audits are in regular process

63

ANNEx 3. CENTRAL LEvEL PLANNING AND BUDGETING PROCESS

S.no. description of the Work Responsible Agency time line

1 Preparation of budget ceilings including three year projections

1.1 NPC MoF and Ministries, Agencies prepare budget ceilings on the basis of MTEF for the budget projections of coming Fy

NPC/MoF/Sectoral Ministries 2nd Wk of kartik

(24th to 30th Oct)

1.2 The resource committee analyses the resources availability and submits report to budget committee

Resource committee 3rd wk of kartik

(31st Oct to 6th Nov)

1.3 Determine the total size and ceilings of budget Budget committee 2nd wk of Marga

(23rd to 29th Jan)

2. Dispatch of Budget ceilings and guidelines

2.1 Prepare Ministry wide/sector wide budget ceilings and guidelines NPC/MoF 3rd wk of Marga

(30th Jan to 5th Feb)

2.2 Dispatch Ministry Wide/Sector wide budget ceiling and guidelines MoF 4th Wk of Marga

(6th to 12th Feb)

2.3 Dispatch received budget ceilings and guidelines to Depts/District Offices and Programs

Sectoral Ministries 1st Wk of Poush

(16th to 23rd Dec)

3. Prepare program and budget including three year projections

3.1.1 Prepare the budget form and submit to respective dept Respective district offices 1st wk of Magh

(16th to 22nd Jan)

3.1.2 Department compiles all the district formats and prepares a comprehensive /consolidated budget and submits to Ministry

Respective Dept 4th wk of Magh

(6th to 12th Feb)

3.1.3 The resource committee analyses the resources availability and submits report to budget committee

Resource committee 3rd wk of kartik

(31st Oct to 6th Nov)

3.1.4 Submit program and budget within the ministry Departments/programs both district wise and program wise and central level activities

Respective Ministries 3rd wk of Falgun

(27th Feb to 5th Mar)

4. Budget discussions Incl. TYP exp projections

4.1 Policy discussion of central and district level budget NPC with participation of respective ministries and MoF

4.2 Submit the policy and program statement to OPMCM by concerned Ministries to be delivered by HoS to the Parliament and copy to NPC/MoF

Respective Ministries Ist week of Baishakh

(14th to 21st April)

4.3 Budget discussion on Capital and current budgets MoF with the participation of respective Ministries and NPC

Second week of Baishakh

(21st to 28th April)

4.4 Preliminary draft budget prepared MoF Third week of Biashakh

(28th April to 5th May)

4.5 Discussions on budget principles and priorities in the finance committee of parliament

3rd-4th wk of Baisakh

(28th April to 12th May)

FM

64


4.6 Finalization of final draft of Budget 4th wk of Baisakh

(9th to 15th May)

MoF

4.7 Draft budget submitted to NPC meeting 1st wk of Jesta

(16th to 22nd May)

FM

4.8 Draft budget submitted to Cabinet meeting 1st wk of Jesta

(16th to 22nd May)

FM

4.9 Approval of PGM and budget by NPC Meeting before submission in the parliament

FM

5. Submission of budget in the Parliament and seek approval

5.1 Budget speech 1st wk of Jesta

(16th to 22nd May)

FM

5.2 Approval budget by parliament last of Ashar

(16th July)

Parliament

6. Program approval and Authorizations

6.1 Dispatch of authorization to concerned Ministries 1st day of Sravan

(17th July)

FS

6.2 Program approval by NPC with Trimester breakdown 3rd wk of AShad

(4th to 10th July)

NPC/Ministries

6.3 Dispatch PGM and budget authorizations to respective offices 15th of Sravan

(31st July)

Ministries

7. Monitoring and Evaluations

7.1 Conduct Ministerial review meetings under the ministerial policies as specified in the budget speech

every 1st week of month Ministries

7.2 Review progress every two months

Source: Budget Formulation Manual, Fourth Edition, MoF 2064 (2008)FS: Finance secretary, FM: Finance Minister, PGM: Program

65

A RepoRt on the DecentRAlizAtion FRAmewoRk oF nepAl


Submitted byJony Mainaly

10 March, 2011

A Report on the Decentralization Framework of nepal

The report presents an overview of the decentralization framework in Nepal so as to inform how climate change adaptation can be best mainstreamed into the development planning framework. It focuses on the fiscal and service delivery mechanisms in decentralized governance as envisaged by legal formulations. It sheds light on the participatory bottom-up planning process, whereby local development plans are based on local needs. The study reaffirms the existing social mobilization modality for community development in Nepal as the best option for climate change adaptation measures. The report describes the existing legal, policy and operational frameworks of local bodies at the local level, and their roles in coordinating local service delivery and implementation of development works. Since the existing local self-governance mechanism is seen as weakly functioning, this report makes suggestions for legal, policy and operational reform. It explores the role of local bodies, NGOs, CBOs and other public agencies in the development of climate change adaptation plans. Institutional and formal frameworks are key to support work at this level, as local people know best the means of addressing the localised impacts of climate change that they are experiencing. The institutional capacity building of local bodies bears great significance, where both the impacts of climate change are uncertain and unpredictable, and the means of increasing adaptive capacity differs over time. Therefore, this report suggests different levels of reform on the one hand and the creation of innovative approaches to adaptation planning on the other.

ExECuTIvE Summary

67

68


69



1. background 71

2. objectives of the Study 73

3. methodology 74

4. Results 75 4.1 Overview of Present Context of Decentralization in Nepal 75 4.2 Overview of Local Self-Governance act, 1999 (LSGa) 75 4.2.1 Local Bodies (LBs) 76 4.2.2 Overview of Planning Process under LSGa 80 4.2.3 Components of LSGa 83 4.2.4 Decentralization Process under LSGa 84 4.3 Sectoral Studies 86 4.3.1 agriculture 86 4.3.2 Forestry 87 4.4 review of Local Governance and Community Development Program (LGCDP) 87 4.4.1 Financial management 88 4.4.2 monitoring and reporting 88 4.4.3 Lessons Learnt 89 4.5 review of Decentralization Process on the Ground 89 4.5.1 Case Study 89 4.6 Gaps 89

5. discussion 91

6. Concluding Remarks 93

References 95

TaBLE OF CONTENTS

70


71

The principal objective of decentralization is to deliver public goods and services to the people through democratically formed local institutions that can determine the needs and aspirations of local people more effectively and efficiently. Those local institutions are the political units legitimised through the popular mandate of people. Decentralization through legal arrangements in creating local institutions (called Local Bodies in Nepal) at the local level, specifies their role and duties and devolves the public functions of the central government to the local bodies. It also transfers roles, responsibilities and functions of the central level authority to the legally created institutions at local level, which is known as the principle of subsidiarity. Therefore, the success of decentralized governance relies on effective articulation of the principles of subsidiarity, where the functioning of central and local governance bodies are indicated and the division of functions, responsibilities and resources are made according to their capability.

The overarching principles of decentralized governance system have been accepted globally. In the spirit of reforming local governance, the Governing Council of the united Nations Human Settlements Programme has adopted guidelines on the decentralization and strengthening of local authorities. It emphasises the importance of decentralization policies in achieving sustainable human development. It acknowledges the role of national governments within the overall context of sustainable development and their responsibility for good governance within each nation, with local authorities as their partners.

Decentralized systems throughout the world endeavour to embed participation and accountability as the pillars of good governance. In Nepal decentralized governance reaffirms this, ensuring participation of people in local governance, and ensuring Local Bodies (LBs here after) are directly accountable to local people. People’s participation in governance makes it a sustainable form of governance, where the decision-making power resides with local people to decide how they prioritise their needs through their elected representatives. Through LBs people feel they have access to the people in governance who deliver need-based public goods and services. It is, thus, regarded as one of the most democratic tools available to materialize good governance and meet the needs of the people. In short, decentralization is believed to enhance the accountability of LBs, to improve the proper utilization of resources, to ensure distributive justice, and to improve service delivery systems so that the fruit of democracy reaches people at the local level.

BaCKGrOuND

72


The local elections in 1992 and 1997 elected representatives for 75 DDCs, 58 municipalities and 3913 vDCs, an indicator of the post-1990 democratic era that reintroduced multiparty democracy and showed commitment to decentralized governance. after the expiry of their tenure in 2002, when the then King dissolved the House of representatives, the legal authority for the elected representatives ceased to exist and is now vacant. Since then, the Local Development Officer (LDO) who is a civil servant, has been placed as the head of the DDC and the Secretary of the vDC. LDOs have now been given the rights that were provided to LBs as per the Local Self Governance act (LSGa).

With climate change having become a determining phenomenon affecting peoples’ livelihoods and the nation’s development, there is an immediate and urgent need to address it. In the context of Nepal, adaptation to impacts of climate change is a national priority. NaPa aims to mainstream climate adaptation programs into Nepal’s development planning process, so that development goals are achieved beyond the project or programme level. This study of the existing framework of development planning of Nepal was necessary to explore the options and ways forward for mainstreaming adaptation. mainstreaming adaptation into development planning is central to the development and implementation of Local adaptation Plans of action (LaPa).

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The objectives of the study that informs this report were:• todocumentthecurrentstateofknowledgeofexistingfinancing,service

delivery and evaluation mechanisms, • toprovidedifferentdevelopmentplanningframeworkoptionsforLAPA

participatory design and piloting purposes,• tofacilitatethemainstreamingofclimateadaptationplanningintotheexisting

development framework.

Objectives of the Study

74

The study was based on primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data comes from Nepal’s acts and rules, field study and interviews with key personnel. Books, articles, journals, and reports provided the secondary data. The study was carried out in three phases consisting of a desk study, field study and analysis of the findings and data. The desk study reviewed literature and information in order to gather information relevant to the study and find the gaps in the literature. The case study was prepared through interviews with key personnel. It helped in the overall analysis of data.

mETHODOLOGy

75

rESuLTS

4.1 Overview of the Present Context of Decentralization in Nepal

The Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007 (the Interim Constitution here after) provides a constitutional guarantee for LBs in its articles 139 and 140. It provides a guarantee regarding decentralization where the principles and goals of a decentralized governance system are to promote good governance through dimensions such as enhancing service delivery and poverty reduction programs. The constitutional endorsement of LBs gives a constitutional safeguard against executive arbitrariness, which is a mark of unprecedented constitutional development in the spirit of decentralization in Nepal. unlike provisions in the former constitution, in terms of decentralization, the spirit of the Interim Constitution is more towards decentralized governance.1 Though the present constitutional provision regarding LBs still lacks the enforcement mechanisms to ensure autonomy of LBs, the constitutional shift of this time is regarded as a milestone development.

4.2 Overview of the Local Self-Governance Act, 1999

Based on the recommendation of a High Level Decentralization Coordination Committee formed under the Chairpersonship of the Prime minister in 1996, the Local Self-Governance act (LSGa hereafter), 1999 was enacted. It consolidated legislation which had put in place the village Development Committee (vDC hereafter) act 1992, the municipality act, 1992 and the District Development Committee (DDC hereafter) act, 1992. The act was instrumental in creating a strong foundation for a local self-governance system in the country. It reaffirmed the statutory recognition of the role of local self-governance and devolution in making LBs more responsive and accountable to local people.

LSGa is the charter for decentralization in Nepal. It follows a devolution model, amongst other models, of decentralization. It provides the legal foundation for the functioning and strengthening of LBs. It stipulates principles and policies to be pursued by the government of Nepal on decentralization for the development of a local self-governance system.2 The stipulated principles read as:

1 Where the Interim Constitution of Nepal in its Article 139 provides for the provision for Local Self Governance where the arrangement about local self governance bodies are incorporated. Article 139 reads as, Arrangements shall be made to set up local self governance bodies to ensure the people’s exercise of their sovereignty by creating congenial atmosphere and thereby ensuring maximum peoples’ participation in the country’s governance, and also by providing services to the people at the local level and for the institutional development of democracy, based on the principle of decentralization and devolution of power.

2 Section 3, LSGAs

76


a. Devolution of required powers, responsibilities, and means and resources as are required to make the LBs capable and efficient.

b. Development of institutional mechanism and functional structure in LBs capable of considering local people and bearing responsibilities.

c. Devolution of powers in resource mobilization in a transparent and accountable manner for the discharge of functions, duties, responsibilities of LBs.

d. Orientation of LBs towards establishing civil society based on democratic process, transparent practice, public accountability, and people’s participation, in carrying out the functions devolved to them.

e. arrangement of effective mechanisms for developing local leadership.

f. Encouragement of the private sector to be involved in service delivery systems.

The LSGa, as reflected in the principles above, identifies devolution as an important instrument in the realisation of decentralization. It is an important formulation to legitimize political units in the form of LBs that are based on popular mandate. It envisions an expenditure model, revenue model, intergovernmental transfer and borrowings as forms of fiscal decentralization. The act has many strong features that make it an inclusive law, such as the participatory bottom-up planning processes with annual and periodic planning, the mapping of resources, accountability and transparency, and the representation of women, deprived and marginalized groups. Since the LSGa has consolidated previous acts such as the vDC, municipality and DDC acts, it is now a unified and comprehensive law to promote decentralized governance in Nepal.

The compulsory function of central government remains in funding the LBs, which ensures the sustaining of LBs through legal formulation itself. It has also devolved

various functions and responsibilities to LBs, along with entrusting the fiscal rights to execute their responsibilities. It devolves such functions and activities to the local level in order to streamline local development activities. It has basically transferred comprehensive central decision-making power and resources to the local level through the process of devolution. The LSGa stipulates the present structure and functioning of 3913 vDCs, 58 municipalities and 75 Districts in Nepal. In order to bring in effect the principles and provisions of the LSGa, the Local Self Governance regulation, 1999 was formulated. The LSGa also established the DImC as the main decentralization policy making body and the LBFC as the policy designing body in the decentralization of fiscal matters. The LSGa also gives recognition to the participation of International/Non-Governmental Organizations (I/NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in the delivery of services to the local people.

4.2.1 Local Bodies (LBs)‘Local Body’ in Section 2(a) of the act means, in practice, the vDC, municipality and the DDC. The two tier system of local government puts vDC and municipality the lower tier and the DDC in the upper tier of local government. The DDC is at district level with an indirect election system (its electorate being representatives of vDC and municipality), whereas the vDC and municipality are at the village and town level with direct election of representatives. The vDC is the local body focusing on a rural area, whereas the municipality focuses on urban issues. There are further sub-classifications of vDCs, municipalities and DDCs as per the geographical situations, population and the facilities within them.

The common functions and responsibilities of the vDC, municipality and DDC are preparing periodic and annual plans, preparing budgets, maintaining co-ordination with I/NGOs in plan formulation

77


and service delivery, and imposing taxes, charges, fees etc as approved by the village Council, municipality Council and District Council respectively. The legislative framework that is in place to render powers and responsibilities to LBs, allows LBs to act on their own or by establishing partnerships with private bodies, NGOs and CBOs and other stakeholders. The structural and institutional frameworks of the different LBs are detailed below:

4.2.1.1 Village Development Committee (VDC)The GoN specifies village development areas by taking into account the geographical situation, population, communal unity or diversity of inhabitants of the rural area (Section 4). The GoN then divides the village development area into nine Wards, of equal population as far as possible (Section 5). The village Council (vC), constituted under Section 8 of the act, serves as the legislative body of the village development area. The vDC, constituted under Section 12 of the act, serves as the executive body of the village Council in a village development area, and consists of the Chairperson, vice-chairperson (who are directly elected by Nepalese citizens within village development area), nine Ward members (who are directly elected by Nepalese citizens within each Ward of the village development area) at the rate of one each from their respective Wards, and two members including one women nominated by the vDC from amongst the members of the vC. The act envisages the vDC as an autonomous and corporate body (Section 13). The structure of the vDC is presented in the chart below:

The spirit of decentralization asks vDCs to undertake all the functions within its ability and scope, since it is the representative unit formed directly from election by local people. Only those functions and public actions that are beyond the capacity of vDC should be vested to the institutions beyond or above that. It consists of all legislative

and executive bodies within it, which is why it serves as an integral body for local governance. as the legislative body in the

lowest tier of local government, the village Council has the following functions, duties and powers to;

a. pass the budgets, plans and programs submitted by the vDC.

b. adopt the resolutions relating to the levying and collecting of taxes, charges, fees, levies etc proposed by the vDC.

c. discuss irregularities identified by the audit report of the vDC, and direct the vDC to take the necessary action for the clearance of the irregularities in respect of those irregularities which cannot be regularized under the prevailing law.

d. evaluate the administrative functions of the vDC and give necessary directions to the vDC.

e. approve the byelaws of the vDC.

The vDC, as the executive body of the vC, executes the decisions and directions of the vC (as per Section 28). In addition to that, it has functions, duties and powers in the sectors of agriculture, rural drinking water, works and transport, education and sports,

Village Council

VdC

VdC Chairperson

Secretary

differentCommittees

AccountCommittees

78


irrigation and soil-erosion and river control, physical development, health services, forests and environment, language and culture, tourism and cottage industries.

Section 31 of the LSGa stipulates the functions of vDC members. among the 13 vDC members there are the 9 chairpersons of each Ward Committee. They are required to prepare plans for development and construction works in their own Ward and submit them to the vDC. They also arrange the forwarding of feasible projects from NGOs to the vDC, discuss the undertaking of development and construction works, and help consumer groups and other NGOs in the selection of projects and formulation of plans. Detail is provided in section 43(5)(a)(b) where it states that in formulating vDC annual plans, the vDC is required to obtain the guidance and prior estimation of the resources and means from the DDC and other concerned agencies for the forth-coming fiscal year. also, the vDC has to provide guidance on the selection of projects and formulation of plans to the different Ward Committees for the formulation of service and development programmes for the forth-coming fiscal year. members are invited from the Ward Committees, consumers’ committees and NGOs in that village development area to formulate plans. This is how co-ordination between government and non-government sectors comes from the bottom level of LBs.

4.2.1.2 MunicipalityThe municipality operates at the same lowest level as the vDC, but in urban areas. The GoN specifies an area as a municipal area by taking into account the population (at least twenty thousand) and the presence of electricity, roads, drinking water and communications facilities. In hilly and mountainous areas, however, the GoN can specify a municipal area as having at least ten thousand population, electricity,

transportation, drinking water and communication facilities. municipal areas are then divided into at least nine Wards consisting of equal population, as far as possible. The municipality, constituted as per Section 80 of the act, is the executive body of the municipal Council where municipal Council itself is the legislative body formed under Section 76. The municipality consists of one mayor and Deputy mayor, directly elected by Nepalese citizens within the area, the Chairperson of each Ward Committee (who are also directly elected), and two other members including one woman nominated by the municipality from amongst the members of the municipal Council. The organizational chart of the municipality is shown in the figure below:

The municipality Council (mC), as the legislative body of municipality, has the same functions, duties and powers for its municipal area as the village Council has for its village development area. In addition to following the directions and decisions of the mC, the municipality has its own functions, duties and power in exercising its rights and discharging its responsibilities under the LSGa3. These relate to finance, physical development, water resources, environment and sanitation, education and sports development, culture, works and transport, health services, social welfare, industry and tourism and miscellaneous. Since the municipality is the representative body of urban people, it is entrusted with primacy over functions of other intermediary bodies within its institutional capacity.

4.2.1.3 District Development Committee (DDC)The DDC is an intermediary local unit in the local government structure of Nepal. Part 4 of the act provides for provisions relating to the DDC, whereas Section 170 provides for the specification of district

3 Section 96

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development areas as maintained under the Local administration act, 1971. The district development area can be further delimitated into between nine and seventeen areas. The DDC serves as the executive body of the District Council (DC). The DDC consists of a) members elected by the elected members of the vC and mC with one member from each area, b) President and vice-president elected by the elected members of each vC and mC in the district from amongst themselves, c) members of the Hor (at present there exists a Constituent assembly) and the National assembly (at present the National assembly does not exist) within the District, ex-officio member, and d)two members including one woman nominated by the DDC from amongst the members of the DC. The structure of the DDC is shown below:

The DC is the legislative body of DDC. In addition to ensuring the implementation of the decisions and directions of the DC, the functions, duties and powers of DDC are

widespread4. They relate to agriculture, rural drinking water and habitation development, hydropower, works and transport, land reform and land management, development of women and helpless people, forest and environment, education and sport, wages for labour, irrigation, soil-erosion and river control, information and communication, language and culture, cottage industry, health services, tourism and miscellaneous. In this sense, the DDC has its different functions as service delivery functions to local level. DDC has different committees and sections, as named above, each with their own jurisdiction. an Integrated Planning Committee within the DDC is set up with the objective of integrating the plans from different sectors within the District.

Thus the LSGa prescribes that the vDC and municipality each have eleven and the DDC has sixteen legal functions, duties and powers. The overlap between agencies sharing the same jurisdiction of work is

4 Section 189

municipal Council

municipal board

mayor

executive officer

Store

Planning unit

AccountCommittee

environment/Sanitation unit

FiscalAdministration

unit

VariousCommittees

Administrationunit

tax unit

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often found to be a hindrance to effective functioning. Since, the vDC and municipality have operational jurisdiction of their own areas there is no functional overlap, however, there is an overlap of functions and powers between vDC, DDC and the Centre and also between the municipality, DDC and the Centre. acute specification of functions, duties and powers is therefore necessary for effective functioning.

4.2.2 Overview of the Planning Process under LSGAThe development planning system of Nepal has a two-tier system with Central Level Planning and Local Level Planning. The local level planning includes District, municipality and village level planning. The National Planning Commission (NPC) is the apex body in the formulation of development plans in the country. It coordinates plan formulation and advises government on effective implementation, along with monitoring and evaluating development interventions.

The central planning process starts with a budget ceiling from the NPC and the ministry of Finance (moF). The NPC is the

authoritative body in making macro and sectoral ceilings. The resource Committee of the NPC (consisting of representatives from the NPC, moF, Nepal rastra Bank, and the Financial Comptroller General’s Office) is the committee that makes a projection of available resources for approval under the ceilings determined by NPC.

after approval, the NPC instructs the line ministries to come up with their development budget plans for the next fiscal year. The NPC provides the necessary guidelines, formats and budget ceiling. The line ministries then send the format to their district offices, and the district plan comes up in the concerned ministry. The ministries then consolidate the plans from all the district offices and different projects that can contribute to their sectoral objectives are sent to the NPC and moF for final approval. after receiving all the sectoral developmental plans from the concerned line ministries, the NPC organizes tripartite discussions with the NPC, moF and relevant line ministries. The overall plans from all the sectors are discussed in the light of the periodic plans set previously. Once conclusions are reached that are within the available resource projection and contribute

ddC

district Council

ddC President

Secretary

AdministrationSection

PlanningSection

technicalSection Account Section

differentCommittes

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to the national and sectoral periodic plan objectives, the NPC finalizes the programme for the coming fiscal year. Then the Finance minister is called to the meeting for further submission of the detailed programme, which is published in the annual programme book of the NPC. The Finance minister reviews and consolidates the budget, and presents it to the Cabinet for approval. It is then submitted to the Parliament (the Constituent assembly is currently acting as the Parliament), for final approval by the elected representatives of the people.

Local level planning takes place within the district. The DDC works out the budgets, programs and plans for the coming fiscal year, and sends the list of programs and plans to the ministry of Local Development (mLD) to be incorporated in to the annual budget. The NPC, after endorsement, sends a lump sum budget to the mLD who distributes it to the DDCs. The structural

planning framework, representing both top-down and bottom-up approaches, is depicted in the figure below.

The figure above shows the overall planning framework. It in addition to the existing framework, reflects the missing links in practice between different institutions that are operating at the same level for the same broader goal of community development. Their effective partnership would bring about a very positive result towards this goal.

The participatory planning process stipulated in the LSGa empowers LBs in preparing plans and programs that best address the needs and aspirations of local people. The processes of developing vDC, municipality and DDC plans and implementing them are discussed below. Sections 43 and 111 of the act provide for formulation of periodic and annual plans of the vDC and municipality respectively, where they give priority to the following:

top down approach

Co-ordinates planformulation in

non- developed areas

municipal Planning Village Planning

Settlement, ward levelplanning

bottom up approach

NG

os,

Cbo

s

NG

os,

Cbos

Co-ordinatesand directs in

devolved areas

thesethings arein fact nothappeningin practice

targetbeneficiarie

Facilitates Lbs with budget estimatesand planning guidelines

Central Planning(NPC/moF)

district Planning

Line ministries

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a. projects that are production-orientedb. projects that raise the living standards

and income, and provide employment or direct benefit to rural people, and contribute to the alleviation of poverty

c. projects requiring low cost and larger people’s participation

d. projects operated through local means, resources and skills

e. projects benefitting marginalized people and communities

f. projects protecting and promoting the environment

In formulating plans for the next year, each vDC and municipality is required to obtain the guidance and prior estimation of resources and means from the DDC and other concerned agencies, and it has to provide the same guidance to the Wards in formulation of service and development programs for the forth-coming year.5 moreover, the project ideas should have come from the Ward Committees, consumer’s committees and non-governmental organizations in the village development area and municipal area, and the plans be based on them.6 For the plans and process set forth, the vDC and the municipality should coordinate with the governmental, non-governmental and donor agencies that implement different services and development programs in the area for the following7:

a. To remove duplication between the vDC/municipality and the concerned agency on investment to be made in any service sector.

b. To maintain complementary coordination among investors.

c. To chiefly maintain the role of consumers in procedures.

d. To use methods whereby the inhabitants can have maximum benefit from the investment.

e. To determine a timetable for the implementation of the various programmes.

In order to implement the projects, the vDC/municipality has to use its own resources, from grants from the DDC, the GoN and various non-governmental organizations. The programs that are to be operated by non-governmental organizations should be implemented by entering into an agreement with the vDC/municipality. Similarly, programmes or projects that are to be implemented by the vDC/municipality, carry the investment of non-governmental organizations too, and should be implemented in accordance with the agreement entered into between the two organizations.8 The LSGa, moreover, provides for the vDC/municipality to encourage NGOs for the acts of identification, formulation, approval, operation, supervision, evaluation, repair and maintenance of the village development programme within each village development area.9

In order to execute its functions and responsibilities, the vDC/municipality is legally provided with a fund10, which consists of the amount received from the GoN or DDC, amount received from fees, charges, levies and rents that vDC/municipality is entitled to receive, amount received from the sale of movable and immovable properties and other objects of the vDC/municipality, amount received from donations, grants, assistance or gifts, amount received from income generating programs, and the amount of loan and borrowing.

5 Section 43(5)(a) and 111(5)(a)of the LSGA6 Section 43(5)(b) of the LSGA7 Section 47 and 116 of the LSG8 Section 48 and 116 of the LSGA9 Section 51 and 121 of the LSGA10 Section 60 and 125 of the LSGA

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11 Section 221 of LSGA

Section 195 of the LSGa provides for the formation of DDC plans and their implementation. Each DDC has to formulate periodic and annual development plans for its District. On the basis of the plans formulated, the NPC and GoN have to provide grants and the necessary policies and guidelines to the DDC within the month of Kartik. In doing so, they support: the economic development of the District, production options with comparative cost benefit, the mainstreaming of marginalized people and communities in development works, income-generating and skill-oriented development for women and children, and various sectoral short-term and long-term development works. In formulating the district development plan, the DDC has to follow the process of participatory planning. It is also necessary to hold discussions with the service centres, the sectoral plan formulation committees, the integrated plan formulation committee, DDC and the DC.

Coordination meetings are held to enable effective collaboration between the DDC, GOs and NGOs in developing the integrated district development plan. In the same way, section, 209 of the LSGa provides for operation and implementation of projects by consumer’s group and NGOs where they maintain coordination with DDC. The consumers’ group and NGOs implementing such projects are obliged to keep the up-to-date records of financial transactions made during project implementation. They are obliged to submit accounts of their transactions to the DDC. In executing all its functions and responsibilities the DDC has a fund, which consists of the amount received from the GoN, taxes, fees, duties and tariffs, twenty-five per cent of the land revenue collected, donations, grants, gifts or assistance obtained from any person or organization, and amounts obtained from any foreign government or international organization.11

4.2.3 Components of LSGA

4.2.3.1 Decentralization Implementation and Monitoring Committee (DIMC)The Decentralization Implementation and monitoring Committee (DImC), provisioned by the LSGa in Section 241(1) and headed by the Prime minister, is the supreme body for policy guidance and monitoring whether the objectives, policies, and provisions of the act are being translated to action. The following are the main objectives of the DImC:

. to see whether the objectives, policies, and provisions of LSGa are being translated in to action; and. to make the concerned bodies work as per the norms and spirit of local self governance.

The DImC has made some important decisions in this regard. For example the meeting of 2056/10/3 decided to:. coordinate with the Local Development

ministry and the ministry of Law and Justice by all other concerned ministries to initiate the action to identify and amend the laws and regulations that conflict with LSGa in ensuring effective implementation of LSGa.. all sectoral ministries to include the District Development Plan (DDP) approved and forwarded by the District Council in their annual program as a high priority.

The latest decision of DImC, during a meeting held in January 2010 (which is not documented yet and is based on the interview with one of the under-secretary of the mLD) reads:. Sectoral ministries to determine the areas

of devolution of their authorities to the local bodies.. In the scenario where there are no elected representatives in the LBs,

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the mechanism of co-ordination with political parties should be made.. INGOs and NGOs should operate per the norms of devolution and the DDC and vDC mandates/circular.

The DImC, as formed according to the act, approved the Decentralization Implementation action Plan in 2001. The Decentralization Implementation Plan (DIP) is a progressive effort in tune with the government’s commitment to decentralization. It was formulated to ensure effective implementation of DImC as per the decision of 2058/09/24, with short and long term implementation actions to enhance the reform process of decentralization. It was endorsed to operationalise the spirit and legal provision of LSGa so that the objectives and principles of LSGa could be materialized. It includes sectoral devolution as a mandatory provision, which would facilitate policy adoption and program initiatives in the long run. The core objectives of the DIP in embracing the spirit of LGSa to make local bodies more accountable to the people, include: demarcating their roles, responsibilities and functions, making service delivery a crucial function of local bodies, enhancing local participatory and inclusive democracy, developing the capacity and leadership of local bodies, and developing effective monitoring systems. However, DIP has not been implemented well.

4.2.3.2 Local Bodies Fiscal Commission (LBFC)various studies have shown that LBs have not been able to utilize their rights as stipulated by law in terms of fiscal matters. Thus the LBFC was established in order to resolve the issues and bring into practice a scientific fiscal and accounting system. Section 237 of the LSGa provides the GoN power to form a Fiscal Commission, and this was used on 2063/8/11 by the Council of ministers. The Commission was formed in order to:

. Study and investigate the taxes to be imposed by the local bodies.. Study and investigate how revenue is to be allocated between GoN and LBs.. make suggestions on the policy to be adopted to make tax systems and accounting methods timely.

The LBFC had to carry out studies and make policy recommendations in matters relating to; tax to be levied by the LBs, revenues to be shared between the central government and the LBs, and policy to be adopted in order to keep the tax structure and accounting system of LBs efficient and updated. Therefore, the LBFC was entrusted with the authority to design policy on fiscal decentralization. With that, the LBFC took initiatives to institutionalize the performance-based funding system in DDCs. accordingly the mCPm has been in practice for 3 years now. The LBFC made suggestions regarding a performance-based-grant system, a formula based grant system, resource mobilization at local level, and potential resource identification for internal revenue generation.

4.2.4 Decentralization Process under the LSGA

4.2.4.1 Finance DeliveryWhen decentralization refers to the transferring of fiscal, political and administrative powers and functions from central to local level, attributing independence and autonomy to the local bodies, fiscal decentralization is regarded crucial. When local bodies are responsible for delivering services to local people, they demand fiscal autonomy to carry out those functions and responsibilities effectively. The more effective the fiscal delivery system, the more the quantity and quality of public service delivery is enhanced. The ability of local bodies in fiscal matters, as provided by laws and policies, is determined by the decision-making authority of those local

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bodies, in terms of revenue generation and expenditure, and also by the structural and functional fiscal arrangements between the central and local bodies. The important components of fiscal decentralization are revenue and expenditure assignments, central grants, and the borrowing the local bodies are entitled to in order to deliver services to local people. The revenue to meet the expenditure requirements comes from revenue generated locally, grants provided by the central government and the other sources, and also from making favourable conditions for private agencies and NGOs to cooperate. The LSGa envisioned provision of revenue sharing between local and central government. It provided a devolution of authority to LBs to collect tax, non-tax and other sources of revenue. It also made provision for the optimum utilization of local resources, skills, knowledge and technology.

as per the principle set forth in the LSGa itself, there is concern for the devolution of powers, responsibilities, means and resources to make LBs capable. To make this happen in practice, the LBs are entrusted with different fiscal authority and rights. The DDC and vDC /municipality work at different levels and are thus assigned different fiscal rights, which can be broadly classified under revenue, expenditure, revenue sharing/inter-governmental transfer and borrowings for other agencies. With this there is a clear demarcation of revenue assignments entrusted at both levels of local government. Since, fiscal arrangement determines the sustainability of the LBs, the concern of fiscal decentralization is an important facet within decentralization. The central grant forms a major source of revenue (both conditional and non-conditional; non-matching grants), along with the locally generated revenue of the LBs from taxes, service charges, fees and royalties.

Section 236 of LSGa makes the provision that the GoN can, beyond the

minimum grant to be provided to LBs, attain additional grants on the basis of population, development status, probability and capability of revenue generation/mobilization, fiscal discipline, fiscal necessity, and income/expenditure accounts. Nepal now has an additional grant flow system from central to local levels, based on the evaluation of performance of the LBs, known as the Performance-Based Grant System. This evaluates local bodies based on indicators of minimum conditions and performance measures. In Likewise, the budget speech of 2063/64 announced grant delivery on the basis of performance and has come up (following recommendations of the LBFC) minimum Conditions and Performance measures. On the basis of monitoring and evaluation of the mCPm, the LBs get additional grants. Every DDC has to send a report of mCPm to the Secretariat of LBFC. It then awards the best performers, and the additional mCPm grant goes through LGCDP. a performance based grant system is in line with the approach of enhancing mobilization of local resources and ensuring their effective utilization. Thus the amount of grant from the central government increases or decreases on the basis of LBs’ performance evaluation.

4.2.4.2 Service DeliveryThe devolution model of decentralization endorsed by the LSGa promotes the delivery of services to people through local bodies in the right place and time, in right quantity with good quality. The Interim Constitution of Nepal, LSGa, LSGr, Local Bodies Financial administration regulation 2056 speaks about the decentralized model of service delivery whereby local needs are fulfilled at the local level, and the fruits of democracy reach every level, sex, caste, class in a proportional way so that justice is done. The LSGa sets out to develop local leadership, mobilize local resources and to ensure participation of people in local development initiatives. People expect government to be within their reach in

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terms of obtaining services and in times of need, and this is best ensured through a decentralized model of governance. Once service delivery becomes effective and efficient, the goal of decentralization is believed to have been achieved. Since the LBs are closer to people and their demands, the public service delivery can be an effective tool to ensure people’s faith in the government. However, often the LBs itself is not able to provide all the services alone, so it needs the support of people’s participation, private parties, NGOs and CBOs and the central government.

The current trend of service delivery has focussed on social mobilization as the key tool to develop the demand (demand side approach) that becomes the entry point for any intervention to meet the needs of local people. moreover, satisfaction in terms of service delivery can be enhanced if people participate in planning, implementation and supervision of local development plans, and have a sense of ownership for a plan that is based on their needs. The involvement of the private sector in public service delivery makes it very important to the functioning of the LB itself. Private sector management and operation of an irrigation system through the Water users association following revised legislation that allowed them to levy water charges, is its illustrative example.

The participation of the private sector, civil society, NGOs, and CBOs in service delivery makes them crucial agents of change, where sustainable development can be anticipated through the enhanced capacity of local people to shape their development path.

In order to make the monitoring systematic and coherent, the mLD formulated Local Bodies and Local Development Programs’ monitoring and reporting Guidelines, 2063. monthly,

trimester, half-yearly and annual progress reporting to the Secretariat of the Prime minister and Cabinet, NPC, moF, is undertaken regularly. monitoring and evaluation of the LBs is even more important, to ensure that service delivery and other work is underway according to the plans and objectives. Different monitoring and review workshops are undertaken regionally and at the local level evaluate expenditure and service delivery.

4.3 Sectoral Studies

The sectoral line agencies do not effectively involve the LBs in their plan formulation and implementation. The line agencies generally still operate in their traditional top-down vertical manner with very limited horizontal co-ordination. This puts into question the autonomy of the LBs. DIP has included sectoral devolution as a mandatory provision, which would facilitate policy adoption and program implementation in the long run. However, devolution of all sectoral areas is not a reality yet. In undergoing sectoral studies, this report compares agriculture and Forestry from devolved and non-devolved perspectives respectively in the decentralized context.

4.3.1 AgricultureThe agriculture and livestock extension sector is a devolved sector. The DDC has a role in directing and coordinating it, and it remains a sector in the DDC, but in practice it operates as a distinct body. The District agriculture Office (DaO) prepares its annual Investment Plans in consultation with DDC and other concerned partners. Budget ceilings in principle should not flow to the DaO when it is a devolved sector, but in practice it does. The sector functions in its own manner and its service delivery remains under its own vertical chain. Initiatives taken by the GoN in service delivery to promote agriculture

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are through the devolution of agriculture and livestock extension services to local bodies, polycentric institutional arrangements agriculture input distribution by involving NGOs and private sector, and management and operation of irrigation systems through Water users associations through revising legislation to allow them to levy water charges. However, in practice, no difference is seen between devolved and non-devolved areas, except that funds flow from the DDC.

In Principle, the three Fs; fund, functions and functionaries should be incorporated in any devolved sector. However, the present context shows that only funds are devolved, but not the other two. an interview with the programme officer of the DDC of Dhading shed light on the practical aspects of devolution of authority in matters pertaining to agriculture. Some of his reflections were:

a. The DDC does not have the experts or required personnel to undertake its function.

b. Functionaries of devolved sectors are not accountable to the DDC but to their own line ministries (no sense of ownership of the DDC)

c. There is no directive and co-coordination role of DDCs seen in practice.

d. Devolved areas are working in their own way, expect for getting fund authorization from the DDC.

Thus, it was found that the existing functioning of the LBs in devolved sectors has not been more than in the authorization of funds. It has not been able to come under the DDC scrutiny, despite policy guidance being in place to show the way.

4.3.2 ForestryForestry is a non-devolved sector. The planning and budgeting process does not go through the DDC. The only role the DDC plays in coordinating planning so that duplication is avoided. It does not have jurisdiction over the functioning of forestry. Since, it comes

under a non-devolved sector, the DDC can not directly influence Community Forest user Groups. The DDC calls representatives of FECOFuN and the DFO to different meetings and plan development processes, so its overall agenda in the area of forestry is reflected, but the DDC does not work with CFuGs in the district. The identification, registration and operation of the CFuGs is overseen by the District Forest Office. In practice they are sometimes present in DDC meetings and sometimes not. Since, the DDC only has a coordinating role and cannot play a directing role, plan duplication is sometimes unavoidable.

4.4 Review of the Local Governance and Community Development Program (LGCDP)

When there were different programs running in Nepal for poverty reduction and community development, donor agency support was independent and uncoordinated. However, through the LGCDP, which was launched by the ministry of Local Development (mLD) in 2008, the donors came together under a national program. The principal uniqueness of the program is that the LGCDP is a basket fund programme, where almost all the donors of Nepal and the GoN came together to create a single fund. The program, from the beginning, gave the full management, control and operation of programs and projects to the GoN through the mLD.

The program aims to support the GoN meet its poverty reduction and community development commitments. It is in line with Nepal’s national goal of poverty reduction and also the millennium Development Goals, through programs working in health, education and the delivery of other services. The program intends to work through accountable and transparent local governance, leading to participatory

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community development, through social mobilization and the inclusion of disadvantaged and marginalized groups. The use of a participatory approach to planning and implementation brings LBs (ie DDC, vDC and municipalities), CBOs, NGOs as implementation partners of the mLD. The program being executed by mLD at the national level has brought together the aDB, World Bank, uN System, DFID, DaNIDa, CIDa, Government of Norway, SDC, GTZ and JICa.

The main objectives of the program relate to:. Empowerment of citizens and communities for active engagement with local governments and strengthening downward accountability.. Working within the existing governmental framework.. Local bodies enriched with block grants for community led local development.. Capacity Development of local governments for effective service delivery.. Policy Support for decentralization and Local Governance (Devolution, Fiscal decentralization, Human resources Development, action research etc.). Gender and Social Inclusion in local government affairs.

4.4.1 Financial ManagementThe implementation modality of the program is through close collaboration with all the partners i.e all donors, all GoN line agencies, LBs, NGOs and CBOs. It has a program implementation modality as envisioned by the legal formulations of Nepal. In doing so, the fund flow system is as anticipated by the LSGa, LSGr and LBFar. The plans, programs and budget of LGCDP also come through the budgetary process of Nepal that is accounted for in the annual Budget of the GoN. For that the LGCDP National advisory Committee will approve the annual indicative plan and block grant allocation of the program. The fund then flows from the Financial Comptroller General’s Office to the District

Treasury Office (DTO). after an authorization letter received from the moF is submitted to the DTO by the DDC and municipality, the fund goes to the District Development Fund (DDF) and municipality Development Fund (mDF). From the DDF, the fund then goes to the village Development Fund (vDF). From all of these the fund goes to CBOs and to the private bodies implementing the development plans as allocated.

at least 33% of the vDC capital expenditure is allocated to projects selected by disadvantaged groups. It moreover, focuses on strengthening the institutions of marginalized groups and building their capacity. Within this, the funds are spent on carrying out information, education and communication (IEC) activities, providing training and information to media on local governance issues, implementing social audits, public audits and public hearing programs, strengthening the mechanism of community level advocacy, ensuring in-depth accountability mechanisms managed by local government, providing technical and capacity building support to institutions led by marginalized groups, and promoting fair and equitable distribution of natural resources.

moreover, fund distribution is performance-based with minimum Conditions/Performance measures (mCPm) so that it ensures better performance of LBs in their public functions and duties as envisioned by LSGa.

4.4.2 Monitoring and Reportingmonitoring and reporting goes up the same route that funds flow down. For instance, the CBOs and private sector organisations have to report (with use of different tools as stated earlier) to the bodies that provide funds. The vDC has to report to the DDC, and the DDC and municipality to the mLD, and the DTO and DTO to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office. at the local level, monitoring and reporting is made on a monthly, trimesterly and annual basis, and reviewed by the Program Implementation

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Committees (PIC). Similarly, public auditing at community level is done annually. annual social audits at an institutional level and annual public hearings at local level are also undertaken. Similarly, at national or mLD level, monthly, trimesterly, and annual reviews are made by the mLD. In such a reporting system, accountability is upwards.

4.4.3 Lessons Learnta number of lessons have been learnt about the LGCDP so far:. a harmonized approach works for

channelling funds from different source to a uniform cause.. It is an effective mechanism for decentralization.. Social mobilization is central.. Building grass root level organizations and capacitating them is effective.. It enables focus on disadvantaged group. . It can incorporate a bottom-up approach of planning.. It enables fair and equitable distribution of natural resources.. It builds capacity of decentralized focal units of various line ministries and others for ensuring the principles of decentralization and sector devolution.

4.5 Review of the Decentralization Process on the Ground

The constitutional basis for LBs, as provided in the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007, strengthens their legal efficacy. Thus the constitutional shift regarding the spirit of local self governance is prima facie evidence of strong local self-governance in Nepal. moreover, the LSGa provides them with a strong legal basis. The constitutional provision provides a congenial environment for the implementation of the elements of the LSGa more effectively. Similarly, planning frameworks such as the Tenth Plan and the Three year Interim Plan

encompass different programs and policies to be executed by the GoN in enhancing decentralized governance. Therefore, the strong constitutional basis, legal frameworks and policy pronouncements are cornerstones of decentralization.

Interviews with key LB personnel revealed that the co-ordination required between the different stakeholders at local level is almost nonexistent. Both devolved and non-devolved sectors are functioning in their own way, except for the delivery of the central grant via the DDF in the case of devolved sectors.

4.5.1 Case Study

binod Aryal says, “...LSGA in its legal spirit and its exercise in the ground substantially differs. because of the institutional, leadership and resource capacity, the devolved and non-devolved sectors are not not different in essence yet. We have not yet been able to check the efficacy of LSGA because of no election

of the Lbs which is precondition for effective implementation of the Act. Powerful political parties have been legitimately influential to fit in their programs and plans and keep their priorities and interest in line that make them stronger in the community and sometime even divert the programs prioratized by Lbs because of the influence of the political parties.”

However, he adds “Some NGos and Cbos have stories of success and they have increasingly leaded in contributing the community led development initiatives. intervention in Lbs through NGos and Cbos working in the sector would be one of the best option available to work in climate adaptation programs since there are already many organizations working.”

binod AryalProgramme officer,district development Committee, dhading

4.6 Gaps

Observing the legal provisions and practice on the ground, there are some gaps and contradictions visible in the implementation of the legal pronouncements. There are acts and regulations that are in contradiction with the LSGa. There are 23 laws identified as being in contradiction with the LSGa, and thus being in

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need of amendment. They conflict with the power and jurisdiction issues of the existing central agencies and the LBs. moreover, LBs have often not been able to execute their work as mandated by the LSGa. To illustrate, LBs have been given the rights to monitor and supervise other government agencies , NGOs and CBOs at the local level, but they have not been able to do so. Since the power conferred by the act is not a compulsory function of the LBs, other agencies and organisations pay little attention to it. Thus it is that central agencies are not able to comply with the substance and process of local self-governance. Political interference in decision making has been a hindrance to the effective implementation of the legal provisions envisioned in decentralization. In light of this, some of the legal, policy and operational gaps are listed below:

. The absence of elected representative in the local bodies leads to questions of theri legitimacy.. Demolition of local infrastructure, services and records because of conflict hampers self governance.. The lack of harmonization of acts that are contrary the LSGa hampers its implementation.. The meetings of the different committees envisioned by LSGa such as the DImC are not being held regularly.. Inadequate budget allocation to local bodies without considering the DPP has a negative impact on its implementation.. The DIP could not be implemented successfully so has not been instrumental in promoting devolution.

. Sectoral plans, programmes and budgets are not horizontally coordinated with the respective DDC development plans and programs.. Central level planning has failed to integrate sectoral planning with local level planning.. Despite legal and policy backup, the coordinating mechanisms for mobilising NGO, CBO and civil society is not effective.. The planning process is still very centralised.. The local bodies have weak institutional capacity in discharging their devolved functions and responsibilities.. The devolved sectors are not yet owned by or accountable to local bodies, but to the line agencies. The mindset of line agencies, central ministries and even the local bodies has not changed yet in terms of the ownership of devolved sectors.

Thus, it can fairly be asserted that there are weaknesses in existing practices that have not been able to comply with the spirit of local-self governance. For instance, at the time of developing the LSGa it was not imagined that there would be the elected representative vacuum that currently exists. Downward accountability is questioned since there are no accountable elected bodies. Currently local bodies work with the administrative bodies and the citizen forums which comprise individuals from the political parties at the local level. There has overall been a challenge to the smooth functioning of local bodies as per the spirit of local self governance.

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DISCuSSION

Laws and rules viewed from a historical perspective show the evolutionary process of legal development, and the provisions regarding decentralization in Nepal have proven to be the same. In the context where decentralization was based in the grace of the central government some five decades earlier, it now shows strong evidence of being an expression of sovereign power residing in the hand of people exercising it from local level with a stronger constitutional source.

Local Self-Governance act, 1999, which is regarded as the charter for decentralization in Nepal, has provided a participatory approach to governance from planning to implementation. However, this study found that the planning aspect is seen mostly as top down in practice. The most important aspect of this is the gradual development that Nepal experiences in decentralized governance. Even though Nepal has not been able to fully implement the LSGa because of the absence of local bodies, it seems to be working on its own. The LSGa did not anticipate local self governance without and local bodies, but the GoN has been trying to work within the constraints. Once the LBs are re-institutionalised the best implementation of the LSGa can be imagined. Thus, LSGa in its truest sense has not materialised due to the lack of LBs, the mindset of central government personnel, and the weak institutional capacities of LBs that do exist. One key evidence of good practice with the existing framework, is the participatory process of plan formulation. Even though there is excessive central level control with prescriptive budget and planning guidelines being sent from the central level, the actual task of formulating plans involves local level people in identifying their local priorities. Thus, it can be summed up that the practice of local governance is seen somewhat at the local level in Nepal, even though there are many issues to be resolved in order to bring about the desired outcome of decentralization in Nepal.

In a situation where the decade of conflict dismantled local infrastructure and capacity, the beginnings of decentralisation and local self-governance are a great achievement in Nepal’s development. Community development can best be practiced in relation to the interaction between the community and the existing local governance structures. The unique aspect of Nepal’s case is that, at the point when all other institutional frameworks have been failing, community development through social mobilization, is working where NGOs and CBOs have become instrumental in making development a reality.

Climate change is a global issue that disproportionally affects the most poor, and challenges the success of any development endeavours. Though global assessments of climate change impacts are made, it acutely affects people on a household and local level. Thus, although adaptation is recognized globally as an effective and essential response to climate change,

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it also needs to be addressed through local means and measures of adaptation. Every community in Nepal faces unique problems and risks and thus a community based approach seems to be the most effective response. This approach ensures the local community’s participation in formulating development plans and implementing programs that increase adaptive capacity. The community’s role in monitoring and evaluating is essential, to see whether programs are undertaken in line with plans they helped prepare and address the priorities they identified.

Since climate change has been and will continue to be a key determining factor in development dynamics, mainstreaming of climate adaptation in the development planning framework of the country is imperative. adaptation to climate change as a national development goal is an emerging concept. In order to mainstream climate adaptation in to the existing development framework, it is necessary to fully understand the theory and practice of the framework. Since climate adaptation plans and programs need great flexibility to address the unpredictability of climate change, it is a great challenge.

Policy and legal reviews have found that there are different community development approaches and models available in the existing framework in Nepal. The LSGa provides a congenial environment and participatory means to mainstream climate adaptation in to development planning. Since LBs are the lower most functional units in delivering public services, they are best explored and used in mainstreaming adaptation. Co-ordination between LBs, stakeholders and those most vulnerable to climate change in plan formulation and implementation is the best option that suits Nepal’s case. The participatory development planning framework of Nepal provides

for the inclusion of socially marginalized people and communities. adaptation requires a strong institutional framework, so there is an important role for institutional collaboration and partnership in climate adaptation related plans and programs. Since LSGa provides the legislative strength to institutional partnerships between the LBs and the NGOs, CBOs, private bodies and civil society, it can play a pivotal role in ensuring climate adaptation measures reaching local people. The mechanism of collaboration among those public, civic and private organizations helps address individual weaknesses, and results in highly effective and efficient interventions towards adaptation goals.

Development plans, programs and strategies can be greatly affected by the impacts of climate change. Thus development plans must include climate change dimensions during development. If climate effects are not considered, development strategies can even worsen the situation for vulnerable people and resulting in increasing exposure to the risk of climate impacts.

mainstreaming climate adaptation relies on the vertical and horizontal institutional linkages of public bodies. The local level planning framework should itself contribute to central level adaptation planning and policy development. Cooperation between the different sectoral agencies working at the local level is essential to maintain horizontal coordination in the planning and execution of adaptation plans and programs. The local level planning system will best meet the adaptation needs of local people if it truly is a participatory planning process. To further enhance the incorporation of climate adaptation in the development planning framework, the capacity building of local institutions is essential so that they can channel resources fairly and deliver their services effectively.


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CONCLuDING rEmarKS

The local governance system stipulated by the LSGa provides for mechanisms for budget to flow from the central level to local level, and for development plans and programs go upward from the local level. The budgetary and planning processes go through the DDC. In doing so, the DDC attains greater power in delivering public services, through new ways of directing, coordinating and playing other functional roles. However, in the current situation the DDC’s co-ordinating function is lacking and therefore affects the effective operation of local bodies.

under the LSGa, there are different service delivery functions operating at village, municipality and also district level. Since the vDC and municipality are the institutions that exist at the local level and are directly accountable to local people, it is most appropriate to entrust them with local operational functions. Since the DDC is the only intermediary body to operate at district level, it is appropriate and efficient to entrust the intermediary functions to it. If functions such as ensuring coordination between governmental and non-governmental agencies, identification of fiscal resources, plan and policy formulation, co-ordinating between vDCs/municipalities and the central government, monitoring and evaluation, and determining fiscal discipline, are entrusted to it, the true spirit of decentralization can be realized. LBs have differing capabilities, whereby some have built their capacity to handle public service delivery functions effectively, whilst others still lack. So, the important thing to be undertaken is the objective classification of LBs. The LBs with higher capability should be given the space to work, and the LBs with lesser capability should be given more protection whilst their capacity is built. In this regard, the centre or the existing intermediary body should refrain from undertaking service delivery functions where LBs are capable of doing so on their own, and should support the weaker LBs until they no longer need it. The objective assessment of the lower functioning LBs may require different legal.

as the LBs envisioned by LSGa became defunct after losing their tenure, the central government appointees have become key players in the LBs. Since then, the most effective development model has been partnerships between LBs, NGOs, CBOs and donors through community or social mobilization in community development. Now, donor agencies and other support organization tend to intervene in the community through this model, which tends to favour participation in local planning. Through this model of community development local communities are mobilized, which itself becomes a boon for it respects local knowledge, addresses the local needs, and builds capacity. all of these are essential for the development and implementation of local adaptation plans. Therefore, it is a great success story in terms of community development approach so far, and the climate adaptation in the future. The model focused on targeted community mobilization for project

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delivery through national or international organizations. The setback of the model was the lack of effective co-ordination between NGOs and LBs. The DDC could not play an effective co-ordination role, and did not prioritise the plans and projects of the different organizations and include them within the periodic and annual plans of the district. The organizations were operating on their own, and implementing their project in the community directly, without the necessary coordination with the appropriate LBs. This created a setback in effective delivery of services to the community for there were overlapping projects in the community causing ineffectiveness and wastage of resources.

The centrally strong budgetary and planning process was found to give little space to the actual decentralization process. The annual meeting of the DDCs to pass the DDP and budget, and identify programs and project, was found to normally take the form of an unprioritised shopping list. The DDCs then send the list to the ministry of Local Development (mLD) to be incorporated into the annual budget. a lump sum budget is allocated to the mLD, which is then distributed to the respective DDCs. Therefore, the present planning process is, in practice, more of a top-down process.

a lack of adequate funds and the weak institutional capacity of the LBs is a further hindrance. Because the planning process is effectively centralized and LBs depend heavily on central grants, the LBs do not have the independence to initiate new developmental plans and programs. That in turn makes the central body more powerful than the LBs, thus making a mockery of the principles of decentralization.

Nepal has, however, been unique in marking a substantial change to community development through community mobilization (or social mobilization). Even when the overall situation shows a defunct institutional structure within the spirit of decentralization, the functioning of a community development pathway social mobilization bears witness to society’s commitment towards decentralized governance. Since impacts of climate change are felt most heavily at the local level, adaptation must necessarily start from the same level. Just as community development has progressed through interaction between the government and CBOs and NGOs, so too will that be the most effective means of ensuring climate adaptation programs take place in the community and reach those who are poorest and most climate vulnerable.


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rEFErENCES

1. adhikari, mohan et.al, Decentralization, Local Institutions and Forest management in Chitwan District of Nepal, Paper Submitted to xII World Forestry Congress, Canada, 2003

2. Bardan, Pranab and mookherje, Dilip, Decentralization and accountability in Infrastructure Delivery in Developing Countries, The Economic Journal 116, 101-127, royal Economic Society, 2006

3. Decentralization in Nepal: Experiences and Prospects, a paper prepared by Donor Community in Nepal for purposes of the Nepal Development Forum, 2000

4. Designing Policies in a World of uncertainty, Change and Surprise: adaptive Policy-making for agriculture and Water resources in the Face of Climate Change, International Institute for Sustainable Development, research report, 2006

5. Dethier, Jean-Jacques, Some remarks on Fiscal Decentralization and Governance, Paper prepared for Presentation at the Conference on Decentralization Sequencing, Jakarta, Indonesia, 2000

6. Dhakal, ramji et.al, addressing the Challenges to Health sector Decentralization in Nepal: an inquiry into the Policy and Implementation Process, Nepal medical College Journal, 2009; 11(3):152-157

7. Grant allocation Formula, Performance-based allocation of an expanded block grant, urban development through local efforts (udle), 2009

8. Guidelines on Decentralization and Strengthening of Local authorities, united Nation resolution 21/3

9. Haug marit, Decentralization in Nepal- what are the alternatives?, Working Paper 2008:116, Norwegian Institute for urban and regional research, 2008

10. Incorporating Stakeholder Perceptions in Participatory Forest management in India: Perceptions of Panchayati raj Institutions on Joint Forest management in Harda, The Energy and resource Institute (TErI), Project report prepared for university of Cambridge

11. Johnson W. ronald, minis P. Henry Jr., Toward Democratic Decentralization: approaches to Promoting Good Governance, research Traingle Institute,

12. Joint GoN-Donor review in Decentralization in Nepal, 200113. Kotru, rajan, Community Forestry Governance and Conflict in Nepal: mitigating

Problems and enhancing Opportunities in Terai, xIII World Forestry Congress, argentina, 2009

14. Linking Planning and Budgeting in Nepal: a Case of Education Sector, National Planning Commission, Prepared for the CoP mfDr/mLI Joint meeting, 2006

15. Local Bodies Fiscal Commission report, 2001, Local Bodies Fiscal Commission, Government of Nepal

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16. Local Governance and Community Development Program (LGCDP), Programme Document, ministry of Local Development, Government of Nepal, 2008

17. Local-Self Governance; Nepal Participatory Constitution Building, Centre for Constitutional Dialogue, 2009

18. ministry of Local Development: Key achievement of 2007, Government of Nepal, ministry of Local Development, 2008

19. Nepal: Poverty reduction Strategy Paper Progress report, ImF Country report, International monetary Fund, 2007

20. Planning and Budgetary Process, Economic management Division, National Planning Commission Secretariat,

21. Policy Paper on Decentralization in Nepal and Service Delivery, ministry of Local Development, Government of Nepal, 2004

22. Shakya, Dr. rabindra Kumar, Formulation of Development Plans- Planning Techniques, administration and management review, volume 19, No.2, 2007

23. Shrestha, Bigyan, an analysis of Structure and Pattern of Budget in Nepal, a Thesis submitted to Central Department of Economics, 2008

24. Shrestha, Buddhiman , Fiscal Decentralization and Local resource mobilization in Nepal: The Case of District Development Committees and village Development Committees, Nepalese Journal of Public Policy and Governance, vol.xxx, No.2, December 2009

25. Shrestha, manoj, an Overview of Intergovernmental Fiscal relations in Nepal, Working Paper 02-05, International Studies Program, andrew young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State university, 2002

26. Tenth Five year Plan, 2002-2007, National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal27. The Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal, 199028. The Interim Constitution of Nepal, 200729. The Local Bodies Financial administration regulation (LBFar), 199930. The Local Self Governance act, 199931. The Local Self Governance regulation, 199932. Three-year Interim Plan, approach Paper, 2064/65-2066/67, National Planning

Commission, Government of Nepal, 2007

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Designing LocaL aDaptation pLans for action for the agricuLture sector


Submitted byResource Identification and Management Society-Nepal (RIMS-Nepal)

Designing Local adaptation plans for action for the agriculture sector

The piloting of Local study on designing Local Adaptation Plans of Action for the Agriculture sector was completed with contributions from several people and organizations. Therefore we would like to thank everyone who has been directly or indirectly involved. First of all, we would like to express our sincere gratitude towards Dr. Deepak Rijal, National Facilitator, CADP-N, for providing supervision and guidance throughout the study. We are equally grateful to Mr. Bimal Raj Regmi, Natural Resources and Climate Change Advisor, DFID for enduring encouragement and valuable feedback despite his busy schedule.

We would also like to thank Simon Anderson (Team Leader, Climate Change Group), Sibongile Pradhan, Jessica Ayers and Nanki Kaur from IIED for their feedback and support during this pilot. Further, the effort of Sibongile Pradhan in editing our report is highly appreciated. Binod Chapagain is also acknowledged for supporting us. We are also grateful to Ms. Basana Sapkota and whole CADP-N team for their support.

We would like to extend our gratitude towards RIMS-Nepal, Executive Director Kalyan Gauli for his moral support and also his technical contribution to this pilot. We also acknowledge Gunga Dutta Awasthi, Rojee Suwal, Kiran Rijal and Hari Bhattarai for their involvement.

This pilot could not have taken place without the support and co-operation of local people, farmers, VDC secretary and political party representatives from Tasarpu, Jeevanpur and Jogimara VDCs, and therefore we are highly indebted to them.

Last, but not least, we would like to thank CADP-N, IIED and DFID/UKaid for providing financial and technical support to conduct this pilot.

LAPA Team:Shree K. MaharjanPrativa SapkotaRam B. MijarDhan B. KhadkaRakesna Basnet(RIMS-Nepal)

ACKNoWLEDGEMENTS

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Acknowledgements 99

Table of Contents 101

Executive Summary 103

1. Introduction 107

2. Objective 109 2.1. Specific objectives: 109

3. Methodology 110 3.1. Pilot sites 110 3.2. Tools, Methods and Approaches 111

4. Outputs / Findings / Analysis 114 4.1. Adaptation interventions, strategies and approaches 114 4. 2. Climate adaptive technical interventions and delivery mechanisms for increasing adaptive capacity 117 4.3. Tools and their uses in different activities and assessments 118 4.4. Adaptation plans at community and VDC level 120 4.5. Institutional mechanisms 120 4.6. Financial Delivery Mechanisms 122 4.7. Coordination and Synergy 124 4.8. Monitoring and Evaluation 125 4.9. Barriers, Gaps and Constraints to LAPA development and implementation 126

5. Conclusion: Proposed LAPA design for the agricultural sector 127 5.1. LAPA Development and Implementation Process 128 5.2. Institutional Framework for the LAPA Development and Implementation 129 5.3. Key Actors and their roles in LAPA process 130 5.4. Monitoring and Evaluation 130 5.5. The Way Forward 131

6. References 132

ANNEXES 134-146

TABLE oF CoNTENTS

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ExECUTIVE SUMMARy

The Climate Adaptation Design and Pilot project – Nepal (CADP-N) set out to design Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPA) and mechanisms for mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development planning across the different sectors identified by the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA). The Resource Management and Identification Society (RIMS) Nepal had the opportunity to contribute to this in the agriculture and natural resources sector. This report provides insight and recommendations on increasing the capacity of individuals, households and communities to respond to climate variability, and on integrating climate foresight into the development planning processes. The analysis includes factors to be addressed from local to national level in order to mainstream climate change. It details potential climate change adaptation interventions to increase awareness and enhance adaptive capacity, along with institutional and financial mechanisms suitable for LAPA implementation.

The pilot took an approach that was participatory and interdisciplinary, and involved partnership and learning-by-doing. Strategies used to ensure wide participation from different stakeholders included having the Village Development Committee (VDC) as the focal organization, and ensuring collaboration and co-ordination with government line agencies, the media and Civil Society organizations (CSos). Tools used in the pilot include vulnerability assessments, institutional mapping, workshops, interaction meetings, pair-wise ranking, participatory vulnerability ranking (PVR), cost benefit analysis and multi-criteria assessment.

As poor people are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, different strategies were applied to enhance their economic, social and environmental conditions and capacities to adapt to climate impacts. Assessments of vulnerability, adaptation interventions and implications of climate change were conducted to explore local adjustments made where people are confronted with a number of climatic stresses in their daily lives. It was found that climate adaptation measures must be context-specific, comprehensive, address a broad range of factors and be integrated into local planning processes. Given its complexity, climate change adaptation must be integrated in the development process through a holistic approach that addresses the physical risks and vulnerabilities posed by climate change and strengthens the adaptive capacity or resilience of communities.

The report presents and discusses three case studies of interventions that enhance the capacity of communities to deal with climate stresses and their integration into VDC planning. These cases are: water collection ponds and micro irrigation for improving community access to depleting water resources; Farmers’ Field Schools for raising climate awareness and resilience capacity; and a Community Seed and Information Resource Center (CSIRC) for enhancing access to improved seeds and information along with a livestock compensation mechanism.

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Raising awareness of climate change and adaptation is a critical first step before any other part of the LAPA process can take place effectively. Participatory vulnerability assessment is vital in order to analyze the ground reality, local livelihood strategies and contexts of the most vulnerable people before designing and implementing any climate adaptation measures. Climate foresight is essential for adaptation planning to have the desired impact. Institutional mechanisms must ensure the flow of accurate and up-to-date information regarding global, national and local effects and predictions of climate change.

Based on the pilot, RIMS’s institutional experience and climate adaptation literature, the report suggests ways for mainstreaming climate adaptation into the development planning process. The VDC is the most appropriate local institution for mainstreaming climate change. It is here that adaptation plans developed by communities can best meet the funds and services from national, regional and district providers in the climate of national adaptation policy and guidelines. Adaptation should be incorporated into broader VDC and district level development efforts and plans, instead of separate plans for climate change adaptation. Climate sensitive development plans will ensure the vulnerability of individuals and communities is not inadvertently increased by development projects.

Institution strengthening is a key part of building adaptive capacity. Local institutions are context specific, based on prevailing and possible climate change impacts. Many institutions have their own working areas and modalities, and institutional and financial mechanisms at the local level. Realizing this, it is important to develop a holistic development plan with a multi-stakeholder sharing and learning forum that should involve and empower local

actors in planning and implementation of adaptation and development activities. Specialized CSos working in the area are most appropriate for enhancing adaptive capacities of local actors and implementing climate sensitive development and adaptation initiatives in a collaborative way. For example, the establishment of Community Seed and Information Resource Centre in collaboration with the Agriculture Development Committee under the VDC, empowered the community to mainstream the centre into the local planning process.

The capacity of vulnerable communities needs to be enhanced to reach up and draw down resources from VDC and district, and mechanisms need to be put in place to do that. Finance delivery mechanisms need to be carefully worked out to ensure downward accountability. It is suggested that separate LAPA facilitation units are created at VDC, hamlet and community levels. Through these units national finance can be channeled via the DDC towards vulnerable communities in response to their specific needs. Alongside this, local monetary or material contributions made by the community will ensure more effective implementation of adaptation activities as local people show concern that their investment is well spent.

Tools and methods developed by the Livelihood Forestry Programme and Practical Action Nepal were reviewed, modified and contextualized for assessing vulnerabilities, planning adaptation and developing interventions. The tools involved in participatory vulnerability assessment and participatory planning provide understanding of what climate change means for individuals, communities and local institutions, and how appropriate responses can be designed and embedded in planning processes. Those same tools can additionally be used for monitoring

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progress and impacts of adaptation activities and plans. Climate hazard mapping and climate wellbeing ranking were found to be comparatively more efficient than other tools. The multi-criteria assessment tool was found to be the best tool for ensuring the inclusion of poor and vulnerable people in the planning process.

The experiences and learning from the pilots in Dhading district are relevant and useful for designing, implementing and integrating adaptation plans that address current climate variability. This information is also relevant for preparing for adapting to future climate change, and can be used for the development of LAPA in other localities of the country as well.

Climate change impacts are widespread and climatic uncertainties are likely to

increase with unpredictable precipitation and increased temperature. Climate change impacts are already creating additional challenges to development in Dhading and throughout Nepal such that additional resources are needed to deal with and adapt to the overwhelming poverty and vulnerability. It is in this context that this pilot report presents how LAPA can be developed in the agriculture sector and recommends that adaptation to climate change be mainstreamed into local planning processes, as well as into annual and periodic plans of private and not-for-profit organizations. National support for the development and implementation of LAPA will result in the adaptive capacity of local actors being strengthened to deal with climate change impacts and to reduce poverty in more efficient ways.

INTRoDUCTIoN

Climate change poses additional threats to the existing challenges of development in Nepal. Climate change, in the form of increased temperature trends and variability in precipitation, is already leading to differentiated impacts across Nepal. Future climate induced changes are likely to exacerbate these impacts with higher temperatures and uncertain precipitation (MoE, 2010).

Nepal’s development goals are set under the overriding goal of poverty reduction, which is largely a rural phenomenon (MoE, 2010). National periodic plans aim to achieve poverty reduction by providing a policy framework that encourages investments in key sectors such as agriculture, water and forestry to enhance the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people. Given the fact that the main impacts of climate change are observed in these sectors and in the livelihoods of vulnerable groups, the effectiveness and the sustainability of development interventions largely depends on the extent to which these interventions address climate change impacts.

Because adapting to the impacts of climate change is of key concern for Nepal, the Government of Nepal (GoN) has initiated the process of adaptation planning and developed a number of policy and institutional processes. In terms of policy planning, the GoN has prepared a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) document. In terms of institutional processes it has initiated the NAPA plus process, including a Knowledge Management Hub and a Multi-stakeholder Forum to support robust and iterative adaptation planning. The Government has established a Climate Change Management Division within the Ministry of Environment which has a mandate to coordinate the climate agenda in Nepal; the country also has a Prime Minister’s Climate Change Council, which provides high level political support to the climate agenda. A climate change policy has recently been finalized and approved by the Council of Ministers.

In addition to national level adaptation planning, the GoN is keen to support and develop local adaptation planning processes, which are important in order to address local climatic issues, build resilience and enhance local adaptive capacities. Though, Government planners, policy makers development partners including non government organizations have emphasized the integration of climate change into their planning, budgeting and decision-making to ensure effective and efficient adaptation measures at local to national level (Regmi and Karki, 2010), there is a big gap between national and local level planning scales. In order to address this gap, the GoN has identified the need to develop Local

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Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA) as a means to mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development plans to reach up through the planning process and draw down resources. It is envisaged that LAPA will complement national level planning initiatives like the NAPA at the local level, and at the same time provide a mechanism via which local adaptation needs and capacities can be mainstreamed into development planning for the effective implementation of the most urgent and immediate adaptation needs as prioritized in the NAPA at different scales (MoE, 2010).

As part of the LAPA process, Climate Adaptation Design and Pilot Nepal (CADP-N) aimed to design a local planning process to implement adaptation plans at the local level so as to build the adaptive capacity of the climate vulnerable. It has piloted planning processes, institutional and financial mechanisms and adaptation interventions that enable such communities to do that in collaboration with local to national institutions. CADP-N worked with institutions that had strengths in specific sectors, and thematic areas identified by NAPA to pilot the mainstreaming of locally identified adaptation needs and capacities into the development planning process to address the impacts faced by climate vulnerable communities (MoE, 2010).

The agricultural sector is highly sensitive to climate change and therefore NAPA has

identified Agriculture and food security as one of its priority thematic areas. Despite being hard hit by climate change effects, local communities are trying to cope with the effect of climate change through their own initiative. There is, however, insufficient support to help them adjust to the changed environment. A lack of technical knowledge about climate change, a lack of climate integrated development planning and a lack of social security are the main factors that make them more vulnerable to climate change. In order to better adapt, there is a need to adopt adaptation integrated development planning along with strengthening effective existing practices.

Resource Identification and Management Society-Nepal (RIMS-Nepal) is an NGo that has supported the design of LAPA in the agriculture, food security and natural resource sectors. RIMS piloted this in Dhading district, which is ranked as one of the most vulnerable districts to climate change impacts (MoE, 2010). For designing LAPA for agriculture, RIMS identified and piloted adaptation interventions, and assessed the effectiveness of specific adaptation interventions in enhancing the adaptive capacity of climate vulnerable communities. It has mapped and assessed institutions and mechanisms that enable adaptation and ultimately recommended effective adaptation interventions (process, mechanism and institutions) for mainstreaming LAPA into development plans.

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The main aim of the scoping study and pilot was to inform the design of Local Adaptation Plans of Action under the Climate Adaptation and Design Project-Nepal (CADP-N). The main objective of the LAPA in turn was to mainstream adaptation plans into local planning processes in Nepal.

2.1. Specific Objectives:

1. Assess the effectiveness of specific adaptation interventions.2. Pilot the adaptation interventions identified and gather feedback for the LAPA

implementation. 3. Map and assess institutions and mechanisms that deliver/enable adaptation.4. Recommend an implementation modality for LAPA.

oBJECTIVES

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METHoDoLoGy

Figure 1Map of Dhading showing drought vulnerability (left) and overall vulnerability (right)

Figure 2Map of Dhading district showing piloting VDCs

3.1. Pilot sites

The pilot was conducted in Dhading district, which is located in the central development region of Nepal, with climatic variation ranging from subtropical to temperate. It is situated at 27o43’N latitude and 85o11’E longitude, with a mean elevation of 1085m and a mean average temperature of 21.3oC (max 26.3oC and min 16.2oC), relative humidity of 78% and annual precipitation of 1474 mm with an average annual number of 106 rainy days (DDC, 2063 B.S.).

Source: MoE, 2010

out of 50 VDCs in Dhading, Jeevanpur, Jogimara and Tasarpu VDCs were selected for pilot sites, , covering subtropical to temperate conditions and different climatic contexts, climate effects and severity of impacts. These sites were selected based on RIMS Nepal’s past experience and also considering ethnic composition, and the drought, landslides, hailstones and windstorm conditions experienced by farmers with increased temperature and erratic rainfall patterns. The agricultural production of the identified sites had has been affected

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by lack of water for irrigation, changes in local temperature, a shift of monsoon rain, occurrence of new diseases, and outbreaks of pest and diseases. The local communities are trying to cope with these effects of climate change on their own, but these efforts do not seem to be sufficient to adjust to the changed environment. Therefore, the mainstreaming of climate change into development and the provision of institutional support is thought to be essential in enhancing the adaptive capacity of these communities.

Due to the unavailability of meteorological data, weather and climate information was as reported by local communities and from a review of locally available literatures. The major issue for the communities in these VDCs is food security as a result of drought, landslides and hail. Drought is perceived as the major climate change hazard in Jeevanpur VDC while landslide are the main hazard in Jogimara. Though comparatively less affected by drought and landslides, Tasarpu VDC was chosen based on the accessibility of farmers to gateway systems, as local communities have the least adaptive capacity. Agriculture is the mainstay of livelihoods in Dhading district, with more than 75% population dependent on it (DADo, 2065/66).

Major additional challenges in Jogimara VDC are the low accessibility to livelihood assets, low education levels and awareness, expanded limestone mining, and unsustainable development interventions. It is dominated by Chepang communities and has experienced very slow development. Due to observed crop failures, communities have been drawn to livestock-raising with support from different agencies working in the area including RIMS-Nepal. Low accessibility to the livelihood assets is the main factor associated with the vulnerability of people living in Tasarpu VDC, in spite of it being very close to the capital city,

Kathmandu. This VDC is dominated by Tamang communities who were found to be less aware of improved agricultural practices. Jeevanpur VDC lies approximately 25 km from the Kathmandu valley, so vegetable cultivation is the main source of income, but it has been affected severely by drought, especially in the upland areas. Lower lands were irrigated until a few years ago, but now there is not sufficient water available for off-season vegetable cultivation. So, farmers have fewer options and must make the best of the little water available.

3.2. Tools, Methods and Approaches

The methodological steps used for LAPA implementation in Dhading district are summarised in Table 1. Several approaches, strategies and tools were used as shown in Table 2. Prior to the field level assessment for adaptation and development interventions, a series of orientations and workshops were given to local actors including field staff, communities, NGos, CBos, local government authorities, line agencies and other relevant stakeholders to have a common understanding of about the concept of LAPA and its expected outcomes at district and VDC levels.

Primary and secondary information was gathered through participatory vulnerability assessments, focus group discussions, meetings, field observations and consultations with NGos, CBos, stakeholders and communities. Information gathered in the field was then verified and cross checked with reports and publications of partners and line agencies. Secondary information was gathered from literature reviews, emails, phone calls and web browsing. While revising the existing adaptation practices, reports of already completed projects of RIMS Nepal were also reviewed.

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The VDC was taken as the main focal institution during field assessments for approaching and communicating with DDC, communities and other stakeholders. During scoping phase, reviews of adaptation interventions took place in different forms such as institutions, mechanisms, technologies and practices co-ordinating and collaborating government line agencies, media and Civil Society organizations (CSo). Following the tools and methods explained in a manual of participatory vulnerability assessment (Regmi et. al., 2010), local climatic hazards and events, the impacts of climate change and local coping strategies were identified during ward level workshops. How the livelihood options were threatened

by these impacts was also analyzed using participatory tools.

Pair-wise ranking was conducted to prioritize the adaptation practices and interventions. In addition to this, scale of implementation, potential implementing organizations and need for mainstreaming into VDC planning were also analyzed. Cost benefit analysis was used to assess the feasibility of adaptation interventions and prioritize them. Considering the distributional biasness that CBA poses towards different social categories such as vulnerability, gender, poverty and social inclusiveness (o’Hara 1999) multi criteria assessment as used in Tudela et. al., 2005, was then conducted

Purpose

To identify vulnerable sites and potential interventions, mechanisms for piloting

To identify vulnerable sites and communities for piloting adaptation interventions

To collaborate and develop synergy amongst stakeholders for effective piloting

To share the LAPA concept and develop common understanding about the climate change issues

To raise awareness and assess vulnerabilities and explore adaptation strategies at local level

To ensure effective implementation of local adaptations and interventions

To raise awareness, share and discuss plans of action with local communities, stakeholders and political parties

To pilot adaptation interventions and analyse the effectiveness of targeting poor and vulnerable communities

To raise awareness and build capacity of committees within VDC and DDC to address climate change issues and integrate adaptation in to their planning process

To develop institutional and finance delivery mechanisms for the benefit of vulnerable communities

To facilitate mainstreaming adaptation plans in the planning process of local institutions

Table 1 Steps applied for scoping and piloting LAPA in Dhading district

Step

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

Method

Review of the literature , adaptation interventions, institutional and financial mechanisms

Identification of pilot sites based on review of climatic contexts

Identification of stakeholders and interaction

Inception workshop with district level stakeholders, media persons and communities

Community sensitization, vulnerabilityassessments and identification of potential interventions for piloting

Develop plan of action for piloting interventions (community and VDC)

Village level workshops with local stakeholders in each pilot site

Piloting interventions in the field in collaboration with VDC and local institutions including communities

Strengthening Agriculture Development Committee in VDC and Agriculture, Environment, Forest and Industry Committee in DDC.

Raise awareness and develop mechanisms to benefit poor and vulnerable people through each intervention

Facilitate the integration of adaptation plans in VDC, DDC and other local institutions like AKo Cooperative

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for all the adaptation interventions. The pair-wise ranking, cost benefit analysis and multi-criteria ranking were used to prioritize the adaptation interventions during VDC

Table 2 Approaches, strategies and tools used with different stakeholders during piloting

Approaches

Participatory• Gender and social inclusiveness• Bottom up and Top down• Shared learning dialogue

Interdisciplinary

Partnership

Learning by doing

Strategies

VDC as the focal organization

Collaboration and co-ordination with government line agencies, media and CSos

Tools

Literature review

Institutional Mapping

Participatory vulnerability assessment tools

Climate sensitive participatory well being ranking

Workshop, Meetings

Key informant survey

Pair-wise or matrix ranking

Cost Benefit Analysis

Multi criteria assessment

SWoT analysis

Methods

• Sensitization to climate change and adaptation (prior to every activity at community, VDC and DDC level)

• Vulnerability assessment, well-being ranking, Hazard ranking, priority ranking, CBA, MCA, preparation of ward and VDC plan

• Developing mechanisms for livestock insurance and conducting literature review and assessment

• Piloting adaptation interventions

• Conducting Farmers Field School

Methods

• Linkages and synergies of VDC were used while approaching and communicating with DDC, local organizations and communities

• Sensitization activities, Vulnerability assessment, Participatory planning, piloting of adaptation interventions

Methods

Assess existing adaptation practices, evaluate them and conduct SWoT analysis

Identify existing institutions, their working modality and interventions in climate change

Assess the vulnerability, impacts and coping strategies, identify vulnerable communities and households, map and rank hazards.

Identify climate vulnerable households and rank their position in the hamlet tole and ward.

Sensitise, interact and assess local context, prioritise local people's needs and interventions.

Verify the information collected during field assessment

Prioritise the adaptation intervention based on people’s preferences

Examine the cost effectiveness of adaptation interventions

Analyse the effectiveness of adaptation practices

Analyse the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of vulnerability assessment tools

Stakeholders

• Households, farmers, communities, VDC and DDC

• Households, Communities, VDC and DDC• DDC and VDC

• Ako agriculture and multipurpose co-operative

• Across different websitesCommunities and VDCFarmers

Stakeholders

• VDC• Farmers, Communities, Local NGos, Radio

Dhading, VDC, DDC

Stakeholders

Websites of UNFCC and othersPublications of RIMS and other organizations.

Local level institutions

Communities at ward levelCommunities, representative from political parties, VDC secretary and other NGos at VDC level

Vulnerable communities, Farmers, representative political parties, VDC secretary, DDC representatives

Vulnerable communities, Farmers, representative political parties, VDC secretary, DDC representatives

VDC secretary, model farmers, senior citizens

Vulnerable communities, Farmers, representative political parties, VDC secretary

Farmers, representative political parties, VDC secretary

Farmers, representative political parties, VDC secretary

Vulnerable communities, Farmers, representative political parties, VDC secretary

planning. Participatory and Shared Learning Dialogue (as explained in Moench and Dixit, 2007) was another approach adopted during the assessments.

oUTPUTS / FINDINGS / ANALySIS

4.1. Adaptation interventions, strategies and approaches

Based on the literature reviews and field assessments, adaptation interventions, strategies and approaches which focused on increasing the adaptive capacity of poor and vulnerable communities were assessed and analyzed for their effectiveness at local, national and international levels (Annex 1).

It was found that different interventions, strategies and approaches implemented by government and non-governmental organizations are mainly focused on enhancing capacities of communities and providing options for livelihood diversification for development and livelihood security. Though these interventions increase adaptive capacity, very few organizations directly focused on climate change adaptation and the integration of adaptation in their planning processes.

The majority of the interventions were found to increase capacities at local level through technical and financial support and facilitation by local institutions, including local government, line agencies and NGos. They demonstrated that local institutions are vital for effective implementation of both development and adaptation interventions. However, sustainability remained a core challenge for many interventions, as most of the organizations involved in implementation were focused on their own goals and objectives.

Figure 3 Links between different local institutions and adaptation interventions in Dhading district

Types of Institutions

Types of Adaption practices

PUBLIC CIVIC MARKET/SERVICE

Mobility Storage Diversification CommunalPooling Market Exchange

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PrivateBusiness

(Agrovets)

GovernmentAgencies(DADO)

Local Government(DDC, VDC)

Membership Organization

(FG)

Cooperatives(Farmers’

Coop)

ServiceOrganization(NGOs, CBOs)

Case 1 Community Seed and Information Resource Centre (CSIRC) as a meansof increasing the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities

As part of the pilot a Community Seed and Information Resource Centre (CSIRC) was established in Tasarpu VDC in coordination with the VDC.

Tasarpu VDC is dominated by the Tamang Community, who are highly dependent on climate sensitive sectors for their sustenance such as agriculture and seasonal labor migration. Moreover, farmers do not easily get good quality seeds and reliable information regarding agriculture and climate change. In order to address water scarcity, the District Development Committee (DDC) had initiated the construction of water harvesting tanks both at household and community level. Realizing the need for access to seed and information, RIMS Nepal piloted a community seed and information resource centre (CSIRC) to increase farmers’ adaptive capacity under LAPA, in collaboration with the VDC and local communities. This has now been mainstreamed into the VDC planning process.

RIMS focused on strengthening the Agriculture Development Committee (ADC) within the VDC structure. The ADC, which was formed under the Local Self Government Act 2055 for expanding agriculture development through a participatory and decentralized approach, is responsible for the research and development of interventions in agriculture. It is chaired by the VDC Secretary. Guidelines were developed through which the ADC has agreed to operate and manage the CSIRC, and seek additional funds from the VDC and integrate activities into VDC planning process. The DDC and DADO see it as a good initiative for strengthening farmers’ access to improved seeds and information related to sustainable agriculture and climate change issues. The whole intervention process has raised awareness of the farming community, party representatives and local stakeholders about climate change issues and LAPA. The ADC agreed to operate the resource centre and the VDC has integrated it into the development planning process.

A total of 158 vulnerable households were identified for provision of subsidies and incentives in the working guidelines of CSRIC to encourage them to access improved seeds. In addition a business plan was prepared for the sustainability of the centre. The Agriculture Information and Communication Centre (AICC) also agreed to mainstream the centre into national agriculture networks such as Telecenters of Nepal (www.telecenters.org.np). The communities’ enthusiasm and positive feedback from the VDC have further strengthened the scope of CSIRCs in Tasarpu VDC.

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Most of the development interventions identified during the scoping phase could be put into the five categories of mobility, storage, livelihood diversification, communal pooling and market exchange (figure 3). Interventions that provided a regular means of income and that were linked with markets were found to be more sustainable in comparison with others. Both government and nongovernmental organizations were introducing these interventions in the district to benefit resource-poor communities. These organizations have developed their own working modalities and mechanisms for

both institutional and financial aspects. Most of the institutions were focused on development and livelihood interventions following high demand from communities. Many of these interventions, such as water collection ponds, hedgerow farming, and multiple water use systems (including drip and sprinkler irrigation), address climate change issues and are therefore relevant to adaptation as well.

Several adaptation interventions were found to be in use by local people to cope with the ongoing climate change hazards. It is therefore clear that local people are not only


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suffering from the hazards but also trying to cope on their own, and making the most of opportunities to adjust to the ongoing changes around them. Adaptation practices introduced as a response to the altered local environment have been tested and adopted through the generations. Traditional and innovative practices currently being adopted by local people are often more effective at increasing adaptive capacity than those from outside (also found in Ghimire and Bista, 2009). LAPA therefore should focus on assessing local adaptation practices, and strengthening and promoting them. At the same time, it is very important to consider the context and clients before attempting to replicate them. The interventions might need to be changed, based on local needs and the availability of the resources. Further, while implementing the plan, ground reality often turns out to be different; for instance, farmers who were extremely busy with crop harvesting activities were not able to effectively participate in the FFS.

Regarding the beneficiaries of LAPA, whilst the main target group would be vulnerable and marginalized people, participation of less-vulnerable people in decision-making and benefit sharing has to be ensured so as to get support from the wider community. Due to the short piloting period, it was not possible to evaluate the impacts of the piloted adaptation interventions; for example, how the plans increased income or how effectively they were integrated into VDC plans or their sustainability. Nevertheless this pilot can provide feedback to the LAPA design based on local perceptions, review of the past studies conducted in similar contexts, cost effectiveness analysis and the performance of adaptation practices in the short term.

Water harvesting ponds were found to be a good option for areas of high water scarcity. CBA and MCA suggested that their use, along with drip irrigation, was the most cost effective practice. In order to evaluate the performance of water harvesting ponds more effectively (Annex 14), the pilot team needed to observe and analyze at least one crop cycle. Local farmers utilized barren and waste land for producing vegetables and valued the resulting increase in income. Upadhyaya (2004) revealed that drip-irrigation systems reduce women’s workload and to have a significant positive impact on family food and nutrition. This is important for adaptation.

The community seed and information resource centre (CSIRC) enhanced farmers’ access to improved seeds and information on sustainable agriculture for a reasonable price. However, the main lesson drawn from the CSIRC is that establishing resource centres alone is not enough, rather a local monitoring mechanism and links to the market are important in order to ensure the sustainability. Therefore, a business plan has been prepared to operate it well. Economic returns from seed sales will be used as a regular source of funds to run the CSIRC sustainably. In addition, external support from the VDC and external

Case 2

aKO livestock reserve fund to support livelihood diversification of communities in Jogimara VDC

Communities in Jogimara VDC suffered from reduced agriculture productivity due to climate induced hazards such as drought, landslides and especially hail stone. Loss of orange production due to hail is a major issue. As an alternative to fruit and crop production, people are getting attracted to livestock rearing which is comparatively less affected by climate induced hazards. In order to further promote livestock rearing as a means of livelihood diversification RIMS-Nepal, under the LAPA pilot, has just introduced the concept of a security or reserve fund. AKO agriculture and multipurpose co-operative has integrated a livestock reserve fund, initially for goat and buffalo. Series of orientations, meetings and village workshops organized for establishing and managing fund has enhanced and empowered the capacity of communities on CC issues. Guidelines have been prepared to involve vulnerable communities in the fund delivery mechanism. Though security/reserve fund has been taken as one of the adaptation interventions it does not address the vulnerability of poor and marginalised farmers as it require the farmers to pay the premium on the regular basis so as to be secured from the rare and emergency incident of livestock loss.

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agencies, and an attempt at connecting it to the National Telecenter Network provided further opottunities to strengthen the CSIRC. Though it is yet to connect with National Telecenter Network, the director of the National Agriculture Information and Communication Centre (AICC) supports the idea and agreed to mainstream it next year.

The farmers’ field school was also piloted, as an effective way of sensitizing farmers to climate change and enhancing their capacity to tackle climate impacts. Integration of sessions on climate change and adaptation into the IPM curriculum helped farmers to understand the implications of climate change on agriculture and food production in relation to climate effects they have experienced in their lives.

The reserve fund for livestock compensation adopted by the AKo cooperative was a further an important adaptation intervention against the impacts of climate change. Jogimara VDC agreed to allocate NRs. 25000 to operate the mechanism in addition to cooperative shares and CADP-N support. Long term impacts are still to be analyzed, but farmers are enthusiastic about its implementation and plan to expand to cover crops as well. Provision of a 50% premium to be paid by government (GoN/MoF, 2010; referring to the budget speech) for livestock insurance has further raised the scope of livestock and crop insurance in future.

4. 2. Climate adaptive technical interventions and delivery mechanisms for increasing adaptive capacity

Among documented and reviewed adaptation interventions, water collection ponds and micro-irrigation options were identified as effective mechanisms to include poor and vulnerable households. The farmer field school programme was

Case 3

Water harvesting pond and drip irrigation as a means of adapting to water scarcity

Water harvesting ponds have been constructed for micro-irrigation of vegetable in Sigdel Village of Jeevanpur VDC and farmers are efficiently utilizing water in micro-irrigation for vegetable farming. In such areas of water scarcity this is an efficient way to conserve and use water for irrigation. If the flow rates are set correctly, water losses due to deep percolation can be minimised. Through the pilot intervention farmers’ fields, which used to be dry most of the time, are now utilized for vegetable farming. Farmers are positive about the intervention and expect to increase their income and the well-being of their families.

Figure 5: Women farmers involved in FFS activities

Figure 4Women farmers involved in FFS activities

found to be an effective intervention to raise awareness of climate change issues. The community seed and information resource centre (CSIRC) enhanced access to quality seeds and information related to seeds and climate change, with mechanisms to support to vulnerable households. The livestock compensation mechanism, integrated through a separate regulation by AKo cooperative with facilities for poor and vulnerable households, was found to be promising. These practices, when scaled out, can play a significant role in enhancing the adaptive capacity of climate vulnerable communities (Annex 2).

In terms of piloted interventions, a total of 12 households, including six vulnerable households benefited from water

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harvesting ponds in Jeevanpur. Including these 12 households, a total of 27 farmers were sensitised to climate change and empowered to take action through the Farmers’ Field School (FFS) during a 12 week course on cucumber cultivation. Farmers are growing vegetables through utilizing water from ponds and practicing micro-irrigation and integrated pest management to address drought. In addition there are many climate-adaptive interventions implemented in the field as detailed in the scoping report. Though the piloting period was too short, piloted interventions were found to enhance the adaptive capacities of the vulnerable communities in the district. Almost all piloted interventions are climate sensitive with mechanisms to provide support and benefits to poor and vulnerable households. Farmers groups in Jeevanpur constructed water collection ponds and used water efficiently through micro irrigation. Farmers were sensitized to climate change issues and scenarios at local, national and international level. The community seed and information resource centre and the livestock compensation scheme also developed a mechanism to provide a certain percentage of the subsidy

to poor and vulnerable households in selected pilot sites.

The pilot team facilitated VDCs to take initiatives to integrate adaptation interventions into their planning processes and to strengthen the Agriculture, Forest and Environment Committee within the VDC. The District Development Committee restructured the guidelines and working modality of the Agriculture, Environment, Forestry and Industry Committee within the DDC to address climate issues in the planning process and enable communities to reach up and draw down resources and services. (Annex 2).

4.3. Tools and their uses in different activities and assessments

It was found that the majority of tools needed modification for the local context. Among the different analytical tools and methodologies developed by different organizations, some participatory tools could be modified to assess, identify and analyse climate vulnerabilities and impacts. Tools developed by the Livelihood Forestry Programme (LFP) and Practical Action Nepal were reviewed, tested and recommended for identification of poor and vulnerable communities. The participatory well-being ranking tool was modified for identifying climate vulnerable households and prioritizing marginality in addition to analysis of livelihood assets.

The use of different tools for different stages of LAPA development was assessed (See Table 3). All of the tools were found to directly and indirectly raise awareness of climate change and adaptation. This step was found to be essential before any other part of the LAPA process could take place effectively.

Figure 4: Participatory climate hazard mapping in Jeevanpur VDC

Figure 5Participatory climate hazard mapping in Jeevanpur VDC

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Table 3 Tools and their uses in different activities Tools

Meeting/workshop

Climate Hazard mapping

Hazard ranking

Well being ranking

Pair-wise ranking

Qualitative Cost Benefit Analysis

Multi Criteria Assessment

Awareness Raising

√

√

√

-

√

√

√

Capacity Building

√

-

-

-

√

√

√

Vulnerability assessment

√

√

√

-

√

-

-

Prioritization of options

√

-

-

-

√

√

√

Preparation of adaptation plan

√

√

-

√

√

√

√

A SWoT analysis was carried out on the tools (see annex 3 for details). Among participatory tools and methods used (i.e., Hazard mapping, hazard trend analysis, hazard ranking, climate change impact assessment, vulnerability assessment), Climate hazard mapping and Climate-incorporated participatory wellbeing ranking were found to be comparatively more efficient for identifying poor and vulnerable households for quick assessment of vulnerabilities at the levels of ward, hamlet, CFUG and VDC (Annex 4-5). While assessing vulnerabilities, tools have to be contextualized based on the local situations. Moreover, vulnerability assessment tools at different levels provided different emphasis; for example hamlet level assessment enhanced participation of vulnerable people, while VDC level assessment contributed to mainstreaming VDC planning (as corroborated in Regmi et. al., 2010).

Cost effectiveness analysis is important for comparing adaptation interventions. Cost benefit analysis and multi criteria assessment were useful for analysing effectiveness when carried out with the participation of different stakeholders (Annex 14). They also effectively increased awareness of the issues and helped make interventions transparent. Some limitations

were observed while analysing the cost effectiveness of adaptation interventions. Valuation of non-market goods is not easy since people’s differing perceptions created difficulty for agreeing a common result. It was tedious to calculate all the costs and benefits when the impacts were not properly realized. Further the benefit: cost ratio alone could not give an accurate result. Thus the multi-criteria assessment matrix is very important. The facilitators’ role is crucial for meaningful results, as s/he must facilitate tactfully to avoid bias. In spite of the constraints, qualitative cost-benefit analysis and multi-criteria assessment can be very good tools while prioritizing adaptation interventions during planning.

Gateway system analysis was found to be a useful concept for gathering data to be used in analysing adaptive capacity. However it could not be used fully because the concept was not fully clear and the pilot timeframe was too short. In LAPA design it can be used in the initial stages to assess accessibility to resources and assess vulnerability.

The expected and hoped for changes in behaviour of key actors, in relation to increasing adaptive capacity, were identified at the outset of the pilot. They were assessed

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at the end and the results are shown in Table 4 below. Though behaviour change is difficult to monitor within a short period of time, the pilot identified useful progress markers which help to focus on and monitor the changes in behaviour of boundary actors towards increasing the adaptive capacity of poor and vulnerable communities.

4.4. Adaptation plans at community and VDC level

Local climatic contexts and adaptation options were identified and analysed using a series of participatory tools and approaches. on the basis of context, clients and opportunities, adaptation plans were developed both at community level and VDC level in Jogimara VDC (Table 5 shows an example of a community adaptation plan.) The community decided to both make their own contributions and seek technical and financial support from the VDC, DDC and other nongovernmental as well as community based organizations. Piloted interventions were also integrated in to the VDC plan.

4.5. Institutional mechanisms

Institutions specifically working in the agricultural sector were reviewed to understand their institutional and working modality. Based on a review of the literature and field implementation, it was found that each organization has its own institutional mechanism for planning, implementation and finance delivery.

While mainstreaming climate change adaptations into the development planning process, the VDC and DDC are the focal organizations, as these organizations are implementing development activities based on the local self government act. In addition, non-state actors have a significant role in community development, and climate adaptation and enhancing adaptive capacity. At both local and national levels, these institutions have separate planning, implementation and monitoring frameworks, which should be matched with local government planning processes. Institutional mechanisms of non-governmental organizations at local

Table 4 Outcomes in terms of behavioral changes of boundary actorsBoundary actors

Poor and vulnerable households

Farming communities, farmers groups, CFUGs at community level

VDC secretary, local political leaders, farmers groups at VDC level

DDC, DADo, NGos at district level

Behavioural changes (in terms of behaviour, relationships, knowledge base and access information)

Raised awareness and capacity regarding on climate change issues, increased capacity of poor and vulnerable communities in assessing climate hazards, mapping and ranking them. Communities are now able to identify their priorities and examine the feasibility using CBA and MCA. They are also able to develop a community adaptation plan and as a consequence contribute to VDC in VDC planning process, developing their own plan and got their priority approved in village council meetings. In Tasarpu, as a consequence of sensitization, communities demanded the establishment of CSIRC.

Widened understanding of farmers on climate change and its impact on their agricultural productivity. Communities are now able to identify their priorities and integrate them into the planning process.

Increased understanding of VDC members and local political representatives of the issue of CC and the importance of adaptation; they are now able to prepare and implement climate change resilient VDC development plans in collaboration with farming communities, NGos and other stakeholders. As a consequence, VDC has increased the chunk of budget allocated to environment and agriculture significantly in Tasarpu VDC. Similarly Jogimara VDC has approved a portion of budget for AKo livestock insurance mechanism.

Increased level of awareness and understanding of the issues of climate change and importance of climate resilience planning. As a consequence they have strengthened the Agriculture, environment, Forestry and Industry committee within DDC and integrated issues in their planning process.

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Table 5 Community adaptation plan to address the climate change impacts in ward-1, Jogimara VDCVillage/Tole Impacts/Hazards Adaptation plan Purpose When Resource

contribution

Kami Tole, Majh Gaun, Wangrung

Drought leading to reduced crop productivity.

Water harvesting and storage tanks

Collect the rainwater and store to be used during drought

2067 Chaitra

25% (Community), 50% (VDC/DDC) and 25% (others)

Majh Gaun and Lamangdung

Landslides Gabions, Retention wall, Plantation of trees, Napier, Amriso, Ipil-Ipil, Nigalo and Hedgerow plantation on sloping land (SALT)

Retaining unstable land, Soil conservation, Stop landslides by increasing land stability

2067 Chaitra


Mathillo Laitaak Landslide damages in drinking water source

Water source maintenance and protection

Increase drinking water availability and save time fetching water from greater distances.

2067 Chaitra

10% (Community), 65% VDC/DDC) and 25% (others)

Majh Gaun, Kami Gaun, Gairi Gaun, Aamptar, Kharka Gaun

Increased pest and diseases in agricultural crops

Integration of livestock and shed improvement, Implementation of IPM, conducting Farmers Field School

Manage and use livestock urine and reduce use of chemical fertilizers, promote biological pesticide and insecticide

2067 Poush- Chaitra


level are more participatory, bottom up and inclusive when compared with government, but they are often short-term and project based, while government organizations have long-term and sustainable institutional mechanisms. That is why the public private partnership (PPP) modality is important for effective integration of climate change adaptation into development plans.

There have been many development models over recent decades. However, they are not extensively used and will not be until they are mainstreamed into government structures such as the DDC and VDC. Thus mainstreaming adaptation plans into general development plans via the DDC and VDC is essential. In addition, other non-government organizations should integrate adaptational interventions, mechanisms, and processes into their annual and periodic plans. It was found that while integrating climate change adaptation options into VDC planning, there is a high chance of them appearing to compete with other development activities, and communities were found to prefer road construction over any of the climate adaptation interventions. At the same time, the roads themselves are often vulnerable to climate change effects. Thus

adaptation and development interventions should move together in addressing local climatic stresses for the benefit of climate vulnerable. (Annexes: 6 to 13).

It is well recognised that mainstreaming requires guiding policy at the national level. As climate change and adaptation have only recently emerged as issues, there is a lack of national level policy to guide implementation on the ground. As a recent development after CoP 16, national policy on Climate Change has been approved under the special instruction from the Prime Minister. However, further initiative is now needed so as to promote LAPA as a means to implement the NAPA.

Several governmental and non-governmental organizations are implementing development and/or adaptation interventions in Dhading district. The DDC and VDC are vital institutions that can effectively support LAPA implementation and influence the other line agencies to develop their own LAPA. Entering through DDC and VDC provides benefits such as reduced replication of interventions, and strengthened networking and synergy with other sectors. Moreover, other potential institutions and organizations at local level

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can be promoted. Community Forest User Groups are one such mechanism, having been widely praised for successfully integrating vulnerable households and communities. Establishment of sector-wise committees, such as the Agriculture Development (ADC), offers another opportunity to effectively implement and mainstream adaptation interventions.

Though NGos are not properly recognized by government, they are playing a crucial role in improving the livelihoods of poor and marginalized communities. However, government bodies such as Ministry, DDC and VDC are permanent institutions with the mandate for making long term policies and implementing them. They can also guide the private sector and NGos. However, in the current political instability of the country where there is a vacuum of political leadership at the local level in government bodies such as VDC and DDC, mainstreaming of any activity in their planning and implementation process is a great challenge. In such situations where the government is less effective, NGos can facilitate and orient government organisations in the development of climate smart policies/activities and in implementing them. once political stability is established in Nepal, governmental institutions will be able to take a lead role in developing and implementing climate policies.

Prioritizing the climate change adaptation options into VDC planning at times appeared to conflict with other developmental activities due to limited budget. For instance communities in Jogimara VDC preferred road construction more than any of the climate adaptation interventions. Sector wise planning, i.e. planning through existing sectoral committees such as agriculture, forestry, environment at DDC and VDC levels, can to some extent, reduce the chances of adaptation/development interventions

being focused only on infrastructure. It is equally important to ensure that development planning is climate proof, for example in places unplanned road construction is currently worsening soil stability and causing more landslides.

It is essential to include climate foresight into adaptation planning in order to have the desired impact. Institutional mechanisms must ensure the flow of accurate and up to date information regarding global, national and local effects and predictions of climate change. However, the capacity of the local stakeholders needs to be enhanced so that they can understand the phenomena of climate change and its implications at different levels. Further, it is very important to ensure that the local implementers act wisely and accountably; for instance, when they implement any intervention they should ensure that it does not lead to some people being more vulnerable.

4.6. Financial Delivery Mechanisms

Like institutional mechanisms, finance delivery mechanisms were found to vary based on the implementing organizations (state and non state). Findings regarding financial delivery mechanisms for LAPA design are based on piloting livestock and crop insurance/compensation mechanisms. Following local meetings, a livestock security or reserve fund was integrated into the existing institutional modality of the cooperative.

The cooperative was chosen because of the enthusiasm of its members, their skills and their expertise in handling finances. With financial support from LAPA/CADP-N and cooperative shares, a reserve fund was established with clear working guidelines. AKo cooperative developed separate regulations and formed a fund management committee to operate and manage the

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fund. one of the conditions for funding is the inclusion of poor and vulnerable households in the cooperative membership. The structure is illustrated in figure 6 below. Considering the complexity and legal requirement associated with the term ‘insurance’, the term ‘reserve fund’ (Surakshan Kosh) was used.

The two financial delivery mechanisms of Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) and District Agriculture Development Fund (DADF) were identified for their potential to scale up LAPA implementation. Neither of the assessed mechanisms were found to be a failure nor completely successful, as each of them had strengths and limitations. For instance, the modality of PAF has been praised for its effective service delivery while it has been criticized for bypassing the DDC and VDC. The DADF has been unsuccessful in Rautahat, but its service delivery mechanism cannot be entirely blamed. Specific characteristics of DADF such as local decentralization and being centered

on vulnerable people are replicable. In an ideal situation of national political stability, the DADF model would work best, but in the present situation with low accountability of local governmental bodies, the LDo alone cannot withstand the likely pressure while selecting the implementing partner agencies. The DADF model adopted by Sustainable Soil Management Project (SSMP) has become quite successful in delivering services to poor and marginalized people. In the case of SSMP, implementing NGos at the local level are being selected by a high level technical team. A model similar to DADF replicated for LAPA implementation could promote local decentralization but it has to be ensured that local NGos, are selected by a national technical team.

It is therefore explicit that no readymade modality can work clear perfectly in all situations, but rather funding mechanisms should be innovative and flexible enough to adjust to the factors associated with the specific locality. Along with mainstreaming

Figure 6Financial delivery mechanism of AKO livestock and crop insurance

Membership General Members

Farmers and farming communities

Shareholders/business persons

Fund ManagementGuideline/Regulation

Possible other sourcesof Funds/grants likelivestock lnsurance, government grants

Support from RIMSNepal/CADP-N

Poor and Vulnerable

Households

Shares of Ako AgricultureMulitpurpose Cooperative

Executive Committee

Crop/Livestock securityFund Committee

Fund will bedisbursed to

farmers

Reserve Fund for crop and

Livestock

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adaptation into the development planning process, separate LAPA facilitation units should be considered at VDC, hamlet and community levels so that finance can be channeled through the DDC directly to vulnerable communities based on their specific needs. Including monetary or material support from local people, though on a very small scale, will ensure more effective implementation of adaptation as they show concern for their investment. Construction of water harvesting ponds and establishment of community seed and information resource centre were examples of such an approach.

Financial delivery mechanisms must be accountable whether private or public sector. National adaptation funding must have accountability built in at every level, especially to the most climate vulnerable. This goes together with transparency, responsiveness and general qualities of

good governance, to ensure funds meet the needs of the people who are most affected by climate change.

4.7. Coordination and Synergy

Because climate change is a cross-cutting issue, coordination and synergy among multiple stakeholders at local and national level is very important. All piloting interventions were implemented in close coordination with local institutions such as the VDC, DDC, cooperatives, farmers groups and Rural Self-Reliance Development Centre (RSDC) for efficient use of information and resources for the benefit of poor and vulnerable people. Coordination among them enhanced the synergy of implementation of development and adaptation interventions in the pilot area as illustrated in Figure 7.

Figure 7Coordination and synergy among stakeholders in the LAPA process

At VDC level

Cooperatives(AKO Cooperative)

VillageDevelopment Committee

Farmers’ Groupsand networks

enhancing adaptivecapacity poor and vulnerable people

District line agencies ( DADO, DLSO etc.)

District Development Committee

NGOs/CSOs/CBOs(RIMS Nepal, RSDC etc.)

At DDC level

125


Although co-ordination and collaboration with government line agencies, media partners and CSos was an important strategy adopted during the pilot, it was very difficult to work closely in practice with different stakeholders. For example, certain political party representatives did not work well with DDC personnel, thereby making it difficult to organize workshops. Climate change is a complex issue which has a wide range of impacts across sectors. Therefore coordination, sharing and synergy among sectoral experts and line agencies are necessary for effective design and implementation of the LAPA. In the present transitional political situation of the country, most development interventions are only possible with the approval of political mechanisms from local to national level. This demonstrates the importance of coordination and synergy among stakeholders at local level for mainstreaming LAPA in development planning processes.

4.8. Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation is a critical component for assessing whether project interventions are on track and meeting the basic needs of vulnerable households. The M & E framework, tools and practices used in the pilot were effective at different levels. Pilot interventions were monitored against the pilot action plan by both project implementers and external experts. Table 6 summarises the use of and learning from various M&E tools.

The field sharing and learning trip to other sites was informally monitored to see the changes in perception towards climate change and interventions that increased capacity. The vulnerability assessments at different levels provided a baseline for the community and stakeholders to measure changes in vulnerability in the

Table 6 Practices and tools used for the monitoring of LAPA and learning

M & E Practices Purpose Stakeholders Overall learning

Vulnerability assessment Assessment information used as baseline to monitor

Communities, farmers, tole, ward and VDC

VDC and DDC are important for mainstreaming CC adaptations in development plans

Learning and sharing visit Analysis of changes in perceptions (agree and disagree)

Communities, farmers, CFUG, tole and VDC

Specific sensitization programme for specific community

Consultative meetings, review , participant observation, informal interaction meeting and workshops

Changes can be seen over time with repeated meetings with the same groups of participants.

Communities, tole, CFUG, ward representative, co-operative, VDC secretary, political parties, DDC representative

Political parties have strong influences in development planning process

Plan vs. activities reviewInternal meetings

Self analysis against achievements LAPA team Audio-Visual and pictures have more effects during sensitization

Public audit Assess the harmony between actions and plans

LAPA team, Communities, VDC secretary, DDC personal

Adaptive capacity should be enhanced for necessary dialogue and voices for planning in favour of poor and vulnerable people at VDC level.

future. Discussion during public audit is a means of assessing change in ability to cope and adapt over time. Monitoring project activities against action plans helped the LAPA team track progress towards achievements (see also www.careclimatechange.org/cvca).

Criteria of vulnerability and adaptive capacity were identified by community and VDC members with facilitation from the LAPA team. The criteria can become indicators, and they included levels of income, income diversity, access to land, productivity of land, crop diversity, household assets, means of communication, education, health, access to water, access to forest, and position of house (near river, landslide). It is very important that poor, marginal and vulnerable people help set the criteria/indicators as their situation can be very different to that of those with access to resources.

The only element that could be assessed in the pilot timeframe was the change in levels of climate awareness. Indicators include farmers asking questions in the FFS, community and VDC members discussing climate change in other meetings, and VDC integrating elements of community adaptation plans into their development plans.

Monitoring findings must feedback into planning cycles. The pilot timeframe was too short to do this. M&E needs to be an integral part of planning for adaptation because climate change effects are so unpredictable and programmes need to be flexible to adjust according to information from feedback and monitoring.

4.9. Barriers, Gaps and Constraints to LAPA development and implementation

• Thereishighpoliticalinfluenceindevelopment plans. That is why it is

important to sensitize and build the capacity of local actors, including political party representatives, for successful implementation, development and mainstreaming of LAPA into local planning process.

• Inmostcases,morevisibledevelopment interventions like road and construction get prioritized in VDC planning. So, mainstreaming climate adaptation sometimes creates conflicts with development interventions. Development interventions can appear to be undermined by climate change unless plans are climate proofed.

• Planningisimportantbutitisnotsufficient. Adaptation plans require implementation, mainstreaming, monitoring and sustainable development. It was not possible to do these and to give in-depth feedback for LAPA implementation in the short pilot period.

• IntheabsenceofperiodicplansatVDClevel, development plans are more focused on infrastructure development rather than activities in sectors such as agriculture and climate change.

• Noclimaticdataisavailableatthelocal level. In most cases, vulnerability assessments were done based on experience and assumptions of community members and key informants.

• Theclimateadaptivecapacityofcommunities and local actors needs to be strengthened across all sectors (including, for example, health and education) for effective and efficient LAPA.

• Alllocalinstitutions(localNGOs,CBOs,line agencies etc.) have their own programmes and priorities. So, climate adaptation should be integrated into all their plans through sensitizing and providing climate information.

• Delayedreleaseofthenationalbudgetimpacts on the timely planning at VDC and DDC levels, which in turn affects the implementation of community level plans.

126


CoNCLUSIoN: PRoPoSED LAPA DESIGN FoR THE AGRICULTURAL SECToR

The experiences and learning from the pilots in Dhading district are relevant and useful for designing and implementing LAPA. They provide ways to assess vulnerabilities, develop strategies and use the information and resources for adaptation to address current climate variability. This information is also relevant for the discussions on how climate adaptation can be addressed under future climate change and can be used for the development of local adaptation plans of action in other localities of the country as well.

Climate change impacts are widespread and it is certain that climatic uncertainty will increase in the future with unpredictable precipitation and increased temperature. A rigid and readymade plan is not appropriate; rather it has to be innovative and flexible enough to respond to uncertainties. Therefore, while designing the LAPA it is very important to analyse the appropriateness of available adaptation options to the context and the local people. For Dhading and also Nepal, Climate change impacts have created additional challenges to development and the vital need for climate change adaptation requires additional resources to overcome the overwhelming poverty and vulnerability. In this situation, this report recommends that adaptation to climate change is mainstreamed into development planning processes and also in individual institutional period plans in order for the adaptive capacity of local people to be strengthened to deal with climate change impacts and also to reduce poverty in more efficient ways.

People are not only suffering from climate induced hazards but are attempting to cope with their altered environment. Therefore understanding and assessing the contexts, existing vulnerabilities and adaptation interventions, and strengthening communities and local actors should be the primary focus of LAPA development and implementation. Considering these recommendations, interventions to upscale LAPA in the agriculture sector should be promoted, specifically targeting poor and vulnerable people. These interventions should be mainstreamed into development plans through DDC and VDC.

For effective mainstreaming, key actors should be identified at different levels and their roles should be defined for better synergy and collaboration. Regular supervision and monitoring should be conducted to ensure the effective implementation of any kind of adaptation intervention, whether it is at local, regional or national level. Top down and bottom up monitoring frameworks should be developed with tools and approaches. A socially inclusive and participatory planning process is one that ensures participation of the most vulnerable communities. However it is equally important to include the other stakeholders as well, so as to accumulate funds and gain technical support from the different sources. Public audits, public hearings, feedback from citizens and transparent budgeting can serve as the means of such monitoring.

127

128


5.1. LAPA Development and Implementation Process

Figure 8: LAPA design and implementation process

Identification of local stakeholdersand Interaction with them

Selection of sites for LAPAinterventions and mainstreaming

Understanding and analysing localclimatic contexts, vulnerabilities and

adaptation needs and initiatives

Sensitization workshops for different stakeholders (Community, political parties, line agencies, VDC)

Review of the literature, adaptationinterventions, service and financial

delivery mechanisms at different levels (local, national and international)

Adaptation Planning

Identification and Prioritization of adaptation strategies and interventions

Vulnerability Assessments at different levels (Tole, Community, Ward, VDC) with

local stakeholders

LAPA Implementation

and mainstreaminginto development plans

Awareness raising,capacity building Shared learning

meetings,workshops,

exposure visits

Effectiveness Analysis, Cost Benefit analysis,

Muilt-Criteria Assessment, Public

Audit

M & E and Feedback

129


5.2. Institutional Framework for LAPA Development and Implementation

Figure 9: Institutional Framework for LAPA

Central Level Coordination forNAPA and LAPA

Chaired by LDO with the representatives from district line agencies, I/NGOs. CBOs

Planning, coordination, implementation and integration of LAPAs at District level (District Council)

Community Level planning, coordinationand implementation of LAPAs at community level

Polic

y, g

uide

lines

, res

ourc

es, m

onito

ring

Plan

ning

, mon

itori

ng a

nd re

port

ing

Farmers'cooperative

Farmers' /user groups

IrrigationGroups

CommunityOrganizations

Chaired by VDC staff with representatives from NGOs, CBOs, schools local political parties, farmers

District Development Committee (DDC) - Agriculture, Enviroment, Forest and Industry

Village Developement Committee (VDC) - Agriculture,Environment, Forest Committee

Cross Cutting Committees/institutions (Line agencies, NGOs/CSOs, Private sector - Agriculture.

Environment, Forest, Health, and Water Sectors

Sectoral plan formulation committee/institutions (Line agencies, NGOs/CSOs, Private sectors - Agriculture.

Environment, Forest, Health, Water Sectors)

Community Level Organizations at community level

Planning, coordination, implementation and integration of LAPAs at VDC/Municipal and individual organization level (Village Council)

130


5.3. Key Actors and their roles in LAPA process in the agriculture sector

5.4. Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and evaluation can be done at each level, from the policy makers and donors to the people whose adaptive capacity is being increased. It should include the following: • Monitoringthroughparticipatory

planning, integration, assessment and adoption of adaptation interventions and mechanisms by local government bodies, line agencies, NGos/CSos, and other stakeholders.

• Baselineinformationanddatagenerationon climate change vulnerability,

Table 7: Key actors and their roles in the LAPA process

Key Actors Roles in the LAPA Process

1. Community level a. Farmers/User groupsb. Irrigation groups c. Community organizations d. Farmers’ Cooperatives

• Informing vulnerability assessment, identifying CC hotspots, vulnerable households, community adaptation planning and integration in development plans

• Exploring links with markets and providing financial incentives for agricultural commodities

2. VDC level a. Agriculture, Environment and Forestry

Committeeb. Local Political parties c. Local NGos, CBos, Clubs d. Schools and local agencies e. Cooperatives f. VDC

• Identifying vulnerable hotspots, communities/households and prioritizing adaptation needs in agriculture, forestry and environment sector

• Influencing on the mainstreaming of LAPAs in VDC development plans • Awareness raising and sensitization regarding climate change issues at local level• Exploring links with markets and providing financial incentives for agricultural

commodities• Planning and integrating LAPAs into the VDC planning process through Village

Council

3. District Level a. District line agencies (agriculture, forestry,

health, environment etc)b. NGos/CSosc. Private and Business sectors including

Cooperatives and Banks d. DDC (Agriculture, Environment, Forestry and

Industry Committee; District Energy and Environment Section etc.)

e. Education sector f. Mass Media (News reporters, FMs, Radios,

Local TV channels)

• Preparing sectoral adaptation plans for implementation and integration into annual and periodic plans

• Raising Awareness, sensitising and enhancing adaptive capacity through meetings, workshops, seminars policy dialogues at district level

• Public awareness and policy dialogues on climate change concerns at local level• Exploring links with markets and providing financial incentives for agricultural

commodities • Planning and integrating LAPAs into the DDC planning process through District

Council • Generating human resources on climate change adaptation through developing

curriculums at schools and college level

service delivery mechanisms, financial mechanisms, agricultural technologies and interventions for enhancing the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable communities.

• Monitoringtoolsandapproachesthatassess empowerment of poor and vulnerable communities to access resources and services and to make development and adaptation plans in their favour.

• Monitoringchangesinbehaviourofboundary actors at different levels.

• OutputsfromM&Ebeingfedfeedbackinto planning through annual reviews and regular amendment of LAPAs

131


5.5. The Way Forward

The table below summarises how RIMS Nepal would build on and take forward the work of the pilot to further develop and implement LAPA in Dhading district.

Table 8: Way forward for LAPA implementation and mainstreaming in Dhading district

S. N. Activity Objectively Verifiable indicator Means of Verification

1. Continue support of the piloted interventions • Community Seed and Information

Resource Centre • Livestock Compensation mechanism• Farmers field school and micro

irrigation options in the district to draw in-depth feedback for LAPA implementation

Functional CSIRC in Tasarpu and 20-25% increased accessibility of vulnerable people in CSIRC30-35% local vulnerable people benefited from Livestock compensation mechanism Increased 20-30% income of 12 households from multiple water use system including water collection and drip irrigation; Pilot VDCs implement selected adaptation plans

Registers, Meeting minutes, VDC annual and periodic plans, adaption plans, institutional regulations, M & E reports, progress and final reports

2. Strengthen Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Industry Committee and Integration of adaptation planning in DDC and sectoral plans

Regular (2-3 monthly) sharing and planning meeting of the committee in the district 1-2 capacity building trainings/exposure to the members and stakeholders on CC adaptation and periodic planning and integration of the adaptation plans and climate proofing in DDC and DADo

Meeting minutes, Training reports, Progress and final reports, M & E report, Annual and periodic district plans (DDC and DADo plans)

3. Vulnerability assessment using Gateway system, shared learning dialogue participatory tools to identify climatic hotspots at district level.

Climate change hotspots and potential adaptation strategies identified in the district

Progress and Final Report, M & E report

4. Scale up and scale out adaptaion adaptation measures learnt through LAPA piloting

At least 5 identified interventions implemented in 3 most vulnerable VDCs of the district targeting disadvantaged groups (DAG) and those vulnerable based on district level vulnerability assessment

Progress and final report, M & E report

5. Develop district level climate change network and strengthening climate change resource centre for research, learning and sharing platforms on climate change issues

one district level CC network developed for awareness raising, sensitization, climate change campaign and learning/sharing about CC issues among local stakeholders and actors one regional level CC resource centre strengthenedRegular research on CC in resource centres with climatic data recording and publications in local media

Meeting Minutes, Registers, Reports

REFERENCES

Awasthi, G. D. and K. D. Joshi. 2010. Planning and Budgeting Process with reference to Local Adaptation Programme of Action (LAPA): Current Practices and Experiences of State and Non State Actors in Nepal. Report submitted to CADP-N (unpublished), Support Foundation, Nepal

DADo, 2065/66. A Glimpse of Annual Agriculture Development Programme and Statistics Book (2065/66), Government of Nepal, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, District Agriculture Development office, Dhading

DDC, 2063 B.S. District Development Plan 2063/64. District Development Committee, Dhading (in Nepali)

DDC, 2063 B.S. District Development Plan 2063/64. District Development Committee, Dhading (in Nepali)

FAo, 2008. Climate Change and Food Security: A Framework Document. Food and Agriculture organization of United Nations, Rome, Italy

Ghimire, R. and P. Bista,. 2009. Conservation Agriculture Rally Rounds Adaptation to Climate Change. NGo Group Bulletin on Climate Change: Scaling up Community based Adaptation in Nepal. LI-BIRD and The Development Fund, Issue 3, pp 18-22

MoE, 2010. National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate change. Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal

Moench M. and Dixit A (2007) Adaptive Capacity and Livelihood Resilience: adaptive strategies for responding to floods and droughts in South Asia. The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition, International, Boulder, Colorado, USA and the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition Nepal

Moench M. and Dixit A. (2007) Working with the Winds of Change Editors: Toward Strategies for Responding to the Risks Associated with Climate Change and other Hazards www.proventionconsortium.org/themes/default/pdfs/winds_of_change.pdf

o’Hara P.A. (1999) Encyclopedia of Political Economy, Business & Economics

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Regmi, B. R. and G. Karki. 2010. Local Adaptation Plans in Nepal. Tiempo – a bulletin on climate and development. Issue 76, July 2010. Pp 21-25. www.tiempocyberclimate.org

Regmi, B.R. and A. Morcrette, A. Paudyal, R. Bastakoti, and S. Pradhan. 2010. Participatory Tools and Techniques for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Exploring Adaptation options: A Community based Tools for Practitioners. Livelihood Forestry Programme/UKaid.

RIMS-Nepal (2010), Local Adaptation, Plan of Action – Scoping report, submitted to CADP-N. (unpublished document)

Tudela A. Natalia A. and Rene C. (2005) Comparing the output of cost benefit and multi-criteria analysis: An application to urban transport investments, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice Volume 40, Issue 5, June 2006, Pages 414-423

Upadhyay, B. 2004. Gender Aspects of Smallholder Irrigation Technology: Insights from Nepal. Journal of Applied Irrigation Science. Vol 39. No 2/2004, pp 315-327

GoN/MoF, 2067. Budget Speech. http//www.mof.gov.np

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134

Designing LocaL aDaptation pLans for action for the agricuLture sectorA

nnex

1:

Ana

lysi

s of

effe

ctiv

enes

s of

iden

tified

inte

rven

tions

bas

ed o

n lit

erat

ure

revi

ews

and

field

ass

essm

ents

Goo

d In

terv

entio

nsTa

rget

gro

ups/

Com

mun

ity

Spec

ific

attr

ibut

es/

char

acte

rist

ics

Evid

ence

s/in

dica

tor/

impr

ovem

ents

in li

velih

ood

asse

ts

Leve

l Sc

ope

of s

cale

out

IN

L

1.

Hom

e ga

rden

Im

prov

emen

t pr

ogra

mm

e

Reso

urce

poo

r, m

argi

naliz

ed

and

disa

dvan

tage

d (D

AG

) fa

rmer

s

•N

utrit

iona

l sec

urity

•

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me

gene

ratio

n op

tions

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se a

nd c

onse

rvat

ion

of la

ndra

ces

and

stre

ss to

lera

nce

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crea

sed

food

and

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ritio

n st

atus

•

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ease

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etar

y di

vers

ity

•Im

prov

ed fa

mily

inco

me

by s

ellin

g su

rplu

s ve

geta

bles

, fru

its•

Impr

oved

soc

ial r

elat

ion

amon

g ne

ighb

ors

and

farm

ers

netw

ork

by e

xcha

ngin

g se

eds

and

othe

r mat

eria

ls•

Cons

erva

tion

and

culti

vatio

n of

land

race

s an

d st

ress

tole

rant

cr

op/v

eget

able

s

√√

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orki

ng V

DC

s of

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epal

in

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ding

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eral

ot

her d

istr

icts

2.

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ing

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icul

tura

l La

nd T

echn

olog

y (S

ALT

) or H

edge

ro

w p

lant

atio

n/

culti

vatio

n

Farm

ers

culti

vatin

g in

sl

opin

g la

nds

in w

ide

band

s be

twee

n co

ntou

r he

dger

ows

of N

2 fix

ing

tree

s

•Co

ntro

ls s

oil e

rosi

on a

nd to

p so

il ru

n off

•

Incr

ease

d N

2 to

the

soil.

•Im

prov

ed s

oil f

ertil

ity a

nd re

duce

d so

il er

osio

n in

hill

s •

Inte

grat

ion

of le

gum

inou

s cr

ops

enric

h so

il qu

ality

and

sta

tus,

thus

incr

ease

d pr

oduc

tion

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ng V

DC

s of

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epal

in

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ding

dis

tric

t and

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eral

ot

her h

illy

dist

ricts

3.

Com

mun

ity S

eed

Bank

Re

sour

ce p

oor f

arm

ers

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llect

ion

and

mai

nten

ance

of

both

loca

l and

impr

oved

see

ds

of c

erea

ls, v

eget

able

s, w

ild fo

ods,

spic

es

•co

llect

ion,

con

serv

atio

n an

d di

strib

utio

n of

land

race

s, to

lera

nt to

str

ess

cond

ition

, to

the

farm

ers

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llect

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an p

rom

otio

n of

dro

ught

, floo

d re

sist

ant l

andr

aces

•

impr

oved

acc

ess

of fa

rmer

s to

land

race

s

√√

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ng V

DC

s of

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S-N

epal

in

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ding

4.

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er h

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stin

g ta

nk/p

last

ic p

onds

/po

ts

Farm

ers

livin

g in

wat

er

scar

city

situ

atio

n •

colle

ctio

n of

run

off w

ater

, rai

n w

ater

for h

ouse

hold

s ut

ility

•co

llect

ion

and

utili

zatio

n of

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te w

ater

, rai

n w

ater

for

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ultu

re, l

ives

tock

and

oth

er h

ouse

hold

act

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es

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prov

ed w

ater

use

effi

cien

cy in

wat

er s

carc

e ar

eas

√√

√W

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S in

D

hadi

ng a

nd o

ther

mor

e th

an 3

5 di

stric

ts fa

cing

wat

er

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city

5.

Farm

ers

savi

ng a

nd

cred

it co

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ativ

es

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l and

poo

r far

mer

s •

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ctio

n of

mic

ro s

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nd

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edits

and

loan

s fo

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sour

ce p

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prov

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end

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ave

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m m

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ith m

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um in

tere

st ra

te

√√

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ng V

DC

s of

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S-N

epal

in

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ding

6.

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less

info

rmat

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acce

ss

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l far

mer

s liv

ing

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ated

vill

age

whe

re

alm

ost n

o ch

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of

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ern

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mun

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cess

to in

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n re

late

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ricul

ture

and

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i-mar

ketin

g in

re

mot

e ar

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ed a

cces

sibi

lity

to in

form

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n on

agr

icul

ture

, m

arke

ting

and

othe

r com

mun

icat

ion

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crea

sed

com

pute

r lite

racy

of r

ural

farm

ers

in re

mot

e ar

eas

of N

epal

√√

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mot

e VD

Cs

of D

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dist

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7.

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ro Ir

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(Spr

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farm

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cing

wat

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•

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8.

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tic h

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Farm

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ased

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ure

due

to e

vapo

ratio

n

√W

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S-N

epal

in

Dha

ding

135


9.

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e dr

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th

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of

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diff

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in

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crop

yie

ld•

decr

ease

d ris

ks o

f cro

p fa

ilure

•pr

eser

vatio

n of

trad

ition

al a

gric

ultu

re s

yste

m•

impr

oved

live

lihoo

d th

roug

h fru

it pr

oduc

tion

•In

crea

sed

sour

ce o

f inc

ome

by s

ellin

g am

riso

•D

ecre

ased

land

slid

es a

nd in

crea

sed

inco

me

from

bam

boo

and

niga

lo•

Prot

ectio

n of

hou

ses

from

cha

yote

dur

ing

win

dsto

rm

√√

√W

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S-N

epal

in

Dha

ding

10. S

yste

m o

f Ric

e In

tens

ifica

tion

Com

mun

ities

livi

ng in

the

drou

ght p

rone

are

as•

Plan

ting

of ri

ce w

ith li

mite

d w

ater

•In

crea

sed

wat

er u

se e

ffici

ency

•Effi

cien

t use

of s

eeds

, wat

er a

nd la

nd

•M

ore

prod

uctio

n pe

r uni

t are

as w

ith m

inim

um u

se o

f see

ds

√√

√W

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S-N

epal

in

Dha

ding

11. H

angi

ng v

eget

able

ga

rden

Farm

ers

suffe

ring

from

w

ater

logg

ed a

nd in

crea

sed

salin

ity a

rea

and

poor

la

ndle

ss fa

rmer

s

•G

row

ing

of v

eget

able

s in

larg

e cl

ay p

ots

•in

crea

sed

avai

labi

lity

of fo

od a

nd n

utrit

ion

•im

prov

ed in

com

e ge

nera

tion

•pr

ovid

ed a

cos

t-eff

ectiv

e w

ay to

pro

duce

veg

etab

les

√Po

tent

ial o

f suc

h ga

rden

in

crea

ses

as w

ith c

onsi

dera

ble

incr

ease

in w

ater

logg

ing

12. U

se o

f str

ess

tole

rant

va

rietie

sFa

rmer

s aff

ecte

d by

clim

atic

ha

zard

s su

ch a

s dr

ough

t•

Gro

win

g of

rice

var

ietie

s th

at c

an

tole

rate

dro

ught

(i.e

. Bin

desh

war

i, Ta

ichu

ng &

Khu

mal

4

•Le

ss w

ater

requ

ired

for r

ice

plan

tatio

n•

Impr

oved

pro

duct

ion

of ri

ce e

ven

durin

g th

e pe

riod

of

drou

ght

√W

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S-N

epal

in

Dha

ding

and

sev

eral

oth

er

dist

ricts

affe

cted

by

drou

ght

13. P

rom

ote

unde

r ut

ilize

d s

peci

esFa

rmer

s aff

ecte

d fro

m

crop

failu

re d

ue to

clim

ate

chan

ge

•gr

owin

g of

und

er u

tiliz

ed c

rops

i.e.

ya

m, t

aro

in h

ome

gard

en•

Incr

ease

d av

aila

bilit

y of

food

•In

crea

sed

sour

ce o

f fam

ily n

utrie

nts

and

inco

me

√W

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S-N

epal

in

Dha

ding

and

che

pang

vill

age

14. C

apac

ity b

uild

ing

of

farm

ers

Farm

ers

affec

ted

by c

limat

ic

haza

rds

i.e. d

roug

ht, fl

ood

and

hail.

•Pr

ovid

ing

skill

dev

elop

men

t tr

aini

ngs

to fa

rmer

s•

Incr

ease

d aw

aren

ess

rega

rdin

g cl

imat

ic h

azar

ds, t

heir

impa

cts

and

adap

tatio

n st

rate

gies

•Lo

cal l

evel

ada

ptat

ion

prac

tices

pro

mot

ed•

Skill

enh

ance

d to

cop

e w

ith th

e ch

ange

s du

e to

clim

ate

chan

ge

√√

√W

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S-N

epal

in

Dha

ding

and

thro

ugho

ut th

e co

untr

y

15. N

ylon

net

Farm

ers

who

lost

thei

r pr

oduc

tivity

due

to th

e ha

ilsto

ne

•U

se o

f nyl

on n

et to

cov

er th

e ve

geta

bles

to p

rote

ct th

em fr

om

hails

tone

•Re

duce

d ha

rm fr

om h

ails

tone

and

thus

incr

ease

d ve

geta

ble

prod

uctio

n√

Wor

king

VD

Cs

of R

IMS-

Nep

al in

D

hadi

ng a

nd d

istr

icts

affe

cted

by

hai

lsto

ne

16. U

se o

f hig

h yi

eldi

ng

crop

var

ietie

sPo

or fa

rmer

sU

se o

f gen

etic

ally

enh

ance

d cu

ltiva

rs o

f cro

ps•

Incr

ease

d pr

oduc

tivity

•Re

duce

d ris

k fro

m d

isea

se√

√√

Wor

king

VD

Cs

of R

IMS-

Nep

al in

D

hadi

ng a

nd th

roug

hout

the

coun

try

17. C

olle

ctio

n an

d gr

oup

mar

ketin

g of

agr

icul

tura

l co

mm

oditi

es

(Veg

etab

les

& fru

it co

oper

ativ

e)

Farm

ers

Colle

ctio

n an

d gr

oup

mar

ketin

g of

ag

ricul

tura

l pro

duct

s•

Incr

ease

d ac

cess

ibili

ty o

f far

mer

s to

mar

ket

•In

crea

sed

inco

me

from

veg

etab

le a

nd fr

uits

hav

ing

low

/no

invo

lvem

ent o

f mid

dle

man

•En

hanc

ed n

etw

ork

betw

een

farm

ers

thus

ena

blin

g th

em to

sh

arin

g th

eir i

deas

√√

Poss

ible

to s

cale

out

in

RIM

S w

orki

ng V

DC

s an

d m

ains

trea

m in

gov

ernm

ent

line

agen

cies

and

oth

er p

artn

er

orga

niza

tions

pla

ns a

nd

prog

ram

mes

136

Designing LocaL aDaptation pLans for action for the agricuLture sector18

. Riv

er b

ed fa

rmin

gPo

or/la

ndle

ss fa

rmer

sCu

ltiva

ting

in th

e riv

er b

ed•

Prov

ided

add

ition

al s

ourc

e of

inco

me

√

19. C

ompe

nsat

ion

for

crop

failu

rePo

or fa

rmer

sPr

ovid

ing

com

pens

atio

n w

hen

the

crop

failu

re o

ccur

s•

Gov

ernm

ent p

rovi

ded

com

pens

atio

n to

the

farm

ers

who

su

ffere

d fro

m m

aize

cro

p fa

ilure

due

to lo

w q

ualit

y se

edW

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S

20. C

ompe

nsat

ion

for

lives

tock

failu

rePo

or fa

rmer

sPr

ovid

ing

com

pens

atio

n w

hen

the

lives

tock

failu

re o

ccur

s•

Prov

ided

the

safe

ty n

et to

farm

ers

durin

g th

e fa

ilure

of

lives

tock

W

orki

ng V

DC

s of

RIM

S

21. N

atio

nal f

arm

er’s

netw

ork

Farm

ers

Net

wor

k be

twee

n al

l far

mer

s th

roug

hout

the

coun

try

•It

is th

e in

itiat

ion

of s

harin

g an

d le

arni

ng fo

rum

, cre

atin

g in

form

atio

n ac

cess

ibili

ty a

mon

g fa

rmer

s.Th

roug

h ou

t the

cou

ntry

22. S

hift

ing

lives

tock

Farm

ers

Shift

ing

lives

tock

to e

scap

e ex

trem

e w

inte

r sea

son

•Re

duce

d da

mag

e to

live

stoc

k du

e to

ext

rem

e w

inte

rD

istr

icts

with

ext

rem

e w

inte

r

23. L

ease

hold

farm

ing

La

nd le

ss fa

rmer

s in

tera

i an

d hi

lls o

f Nep

al•

leas

e la

nd a

nd c

ontr

act f

arm

ing

•Li

velih

ood

dive

rsifi

catio

n an

d im

prov

emen

t•

inco

me

gene

ratin

g op

tions

•In

crea

sed

inco

me

gene

ratin

g op

tions

, liv

elih

ood

dive

rsifi

catio

n th

roug

h gr

oup

savi

ng, a

cces

s to

fina

ncia

l in

stitu

tion,

mar

ketin

g of

pro

duce

s. •

Enha

nced

cap

acity

and

ski

lls o

f lan

dles

s fa

rmer

s th

roug

h so

cial

incl

usio

n, g

roup

sav

ing,

acc

ess

to fi

nanc

ial i

nstit

utio

n,

mar

ketin

g of

pro

duce

s. •

impr

oved

hea

lth w

ith th

e co

nsum

ptio

n of

hea

lthy

and

fresh

fru

its a

nd v

eget

able

s.

√√

√Po

ssib

le to

mai

nstr

eam

in

gove

rnm

ent l

ine

agen

cies

and

ot

her p

artn

er o

rgan

izat

ions

pl

ans

and

prog

ram

mes

24. Z

ero

tilla

ge

culti

vatio

n Re

sour

ce p

oor t

o m

ediu

m

farm

ers

•N

o til

lage

and

min

imum

tilla

ge

with

leas

t im

pact

on

soil

•In

crea

sed

farm

inco

me

to c

apita

l inv

este

d (re

duce

d fa

rm

expe

nses

)•

incr

ease

d ca

paci

ty a

nd k

now

ledg

e ex

chan

ge.

•in

crea

sed

utili

zatio

n of

spa

ce a

nd a

vaila

ble

reso

urce

s•

decr

ease

d so

il er

osio

n

√√

√Po

ssib

le to

mai

nstr

eam

in

gove

rnm

ent l

ine

agen

cies

and

ot

her p

artn

er o

rgan

izat

ions

pl

ans

and

prog

ram

mes

25. D

ocum

enta

tion

and

Prom

otio

n of

lo

cal i

nnov

atio

n re

late

to c

limat

e ch

ange

cop

ing

and

adap

tatio

n

Low

to m

ediu

m fa

rmer

s •

Low

cos

t, ec

o-fri

endl

y, c

ultu

rally

ac

cept

ed, l

ocal

tech

nolo

gies

and

in

nova

tions

, Loc

al in

nova

tion

supp

ort f

und

(LIS

F)

•in

crea

sed

acce

ss to

kno

wle

dge,

info

rmat

ion,

tech

nolo

gies

an

d fin

ance

- in

crea

sed

capa

city

of f

arm

ers

for

thei

r in

nova

tions

thro

ugh

PID

pro

cess

•lo

cally

ada

pted

inno

vatio

ns w

ith m

axim

um u

se o

f loc

ally

av

aila

ble

reso

urce

s

√√

√Po

ssib

le to

sca

le o

ut in

RI

MS

wor

king

VD

Cs

and

mai

nstr

eam

in g

over

nmen

t lin

e ag

enci

es a

nd o

ther

par

tner

or

gani

zatio

ns p

lans

and

pr

ogra

mm

es

26. E

stab

lishm

ent o

f Ce

rtai

n Fu

nd a

t co

mm

unity

leve

l

Farm

ing

com

mun

ities

M

echa

nism

and

gui

delin

es fo

r m

obili

zatio

n of

fund

at c

omm

unity

le

vel

•in

crea

sed

acce

ssib

ility

of f

und

and

load

for i

ncom

e ge

nera

ting

and

livel

ihoo

d di

vers

ifica

tion

optio

ns•

incr

ease

cap

acity

of m

obili

zing

fund

s, liv

elih

ood

dive

rsifi

catio

n an

d m

arke

t pro

mot

ion

•in

crea

sed

use

of lo

cal p

oten

tial c

rops

√√

√Po

ssib

le to

sca

le o

ut in

RI

MS

wor

king

VD

Cs

and

mai

nstr

eam

in g

over

nmen

t lin

e ag

enci

es a

nd o

ther

par

tner

or

gani

zatio

ns p

lans

and

pr

ogra

mm

es

137


Ann

ex 2

: A

chie

vem

ents

, le

sson

lear

nt, i

ssue

s an

d ch

alle

nges

ass

ocia

ted

with

the

pilo

ting

inte

rven

tions

.

S.N

.Pi

lotin

g in

terv

entio

nsA

chie

vem

ents

Less

ons

lear

ntIs

sues

and

cha

lleng

es

1.Re

com

men

datio

n of

app

ropr

iate

to

ols

and

met

hods

to id

entif

y vu

lner

able

com

mun

ities

and

ho

useh

olds

•A

war

enes

s an

d ca

paci

ty o

f com

mun

ity e

nhan

ced

in

the

issu

e of

CC

.•

Clim

ate

chan

ge v

ulne

rabi

lity

asse

ssed

and

ana

lyze

d at

tole

, war

d, c

omm

unity

& V

DC

leve

l.•

Stre

ngth

s an

d w

eakn

ess

of u

sed

tool

s an

alys

ed.

•C

limat

e ha

zard

map

ping

and

clim

ate

inco

rpor

ated

pa

rtic

ipat

ory

wel

l bei

ng ra

nkin

g ar

e fo

und

com

para

tivel

y be

tter

tool

s fo

r qui

ck v

ulne

rabi

lity

asse

ssm

ent.

•Vu

lner

abili

ty a

sses

smen

t is

impo

rtan

t to

unde

rsta

nd

loca

l clim

atic

str

esse

s an

d pr

iorit

ize

adap

tatio

n ne

eds

at

diffe

rent

leve

l. •

Each

tool

has

its

own

sign

ifica

nce,

whi

ch n

eeds

to

cont

extu

aliz

e ba

sed

on lo

cal c

onte

xt.

•Vu

lner

abili

ty a

sses

smen

t at d

iffer

ent l

evel

s ha

s di

ffere

nt

purp

oses

(for

e.g

. ass

essm

ent a

t Tol

e le

vel i

nteg

rate

s th

e vo

ices

of p

oor a

nd v

ulne

rabl

e an

d a

sses

smen

t at V

DC

le

vel c

ontr

ibut

es in

mai

nstr

eam

ing

of c

limat

e ad

apta

tion

plan

s in

VD

C p

lann

ing

•A

sses

smen

ts a

re m

ore

base

d on

ass

umpt

ions

of

the

com

mun

ities

, so

tria

ngul

atio

n is

ne

cess

ary.

2.Co

nstr

uctio

n of

wat

er h

arve

stin

g po

nds

and

mic

ro ir

rigat

ion

optio

ns to

add

ress

wat

er s

carc

ity

in v

eget

able

farm

ing

in S

igde

l Vi

llage

, Jee

vanp

ur V

DC

•A

rain

wat

er h

arve

stin

g an

d st

orag

e po

nd is

co

nstr

ucte

d an

d 12

(6 a

re id

entifi

ed a

s cl

imat

e vu

lner

able

) hou

seho

lds

are

bene

fited

from

it.

•o

pera

tiona

l Gui

delin

e pr

epar

ed fo

r effi

cien

t use

of

wat

er

•7

vuln

erab

le H

Hs

initi

ated

veg

etab

le p

rodu

ctio

n us

ing

drip

and

spr

inkl

er ir

rigat

ion

utili

zing

wat

er

from

pon

d.

•N

egot

iatio

n an

d cr

oss

verifi

catio

n is

nec

essa

ry w

hile

in

vest

ing

in s

uch

inte

rven

tion.

•Re

gula

r mon

itorin

g an

d su

perv

isio

n is

mos

t. •

Com

mun

ity c

ontr

ibut

ion

ensu

red

effec

tive

impl

emen

tatio

n of

the

inte

rven

tion

that

sup

port

in

findi

ng o

ut th

e re

al c

ost o

f con

stru

ctio

n.•

Part

icip

atio

n of

wid

er c

omm

unity

incl

udin

g no

n-vu

lner

able

is re

quire

d fo

r dec

isio

n m

akin

g an

d be

nefit

sh

arin

g of

the

inte

rven

tion.

3.Im

plem

enta

tion

of IP

M th

roug

h Fa

rmer

Fie

ld S

choo

l•

Wid

ened

kno

wle

dge

of fa

rmer

s on

sus

tain

able

pr

actic

e of

agr

icul

ture

.•

Farm

ers

are

sens

itize

d on

the

issu

e of

clim

ate

chan

ge a

nd a

dapt

atio

n m

easu

res.

•Fa

rmer

s ar

e ex

perie

ncin

g cl

imat

e ch

ange

impa

cts

at lo

cal

leve

l.•

Sens

itizi

ng fa

rmer

s on

clim

ate

chan

ge is

sues

is im

port

ant

and

FFS

is e

ffect

ive

optio

n of

sen

sitiz

atio

n.

•Fe

stiv

e an

d cr

op h

arve

stin

g se

ason

and

sho

rt

perio

d of

pilo

ting

perio

d

4.Es

tabl

ishm

ent o

f com

mun

ity

seed

s an

d in

form

atio

n re

sour

ce

cent

re

•Co

mm

uniti

es, V

DC

sec

reta

ry, l

ocal

CBo

s an

d po

litic

al

part

y re

pres

enta

tives

are

sen

sitiz

ed o

n th

e is

sue

of

clim

ate

chan

ge.

•C

SIRC

est

ablis

hed

with

impr

oved

see

ds a

nd

info

rmat

ion

sour

ces.

•A

gric

ultu

re d

evel

opm

ent c

omm

ittee

(und

er L

SGA

19

93) i

n Ta

sarp

u st

reng

then

ed a

nd is

agr

eed

to

oper

ate

and

man

age

CSI

RC

•C

SIRC

est

ablis

hed.

•G

uide

lines

and

Bus

ines

s pl

an p

repa

red

and

appr

oved

to o

pera

te.

•C

SIRC

inco

rpor

ated

in n

ew V

DC

pla

nnin

g.

•Ty

pes

and

degr

ee o

f vul

nera

bilit

y va

ries

even

with

in th

e VD

C.

•Pl

anni

ng a

nd in

itiat

ives

of V

DC

sup

port

ed b

y lo

cal p

oliti

cal m

echa

nism

hav

e hi

gh p

riorit

y on

im

plem

enta

tion.

•Eff

ectiv

e im

plem

enta

tion

and

inte

grat

ion

of a

dapt

atio

n pl

ans

at V

DC

leve

l nee

ds to

sen

sitiz

e lo

cal c

omm

unity

, po

litic

al m

echa

nism

and

VD

C p

erso

nnel

. •

Part

icip

atio

n fro

m n

on v

ulne

rabl

e gr

oups

sho

uld

also

be

ensu

red

so a

s to

str

engt

hen

the

com

mun

ity h

arm

ony

and

thus

resu

lting

in e

ffect

ive

impl

emen

tatio

n of

ada

ptat

ion

prac

tices

.

•M

ains

trea

min

g of

ada

ptat

ion

plan

in d

iffer

ent

agen

cies

is d

ifficu

lt –

they

hav

e th

eir o

wn

prio

rity

138


5.C

rop/

lives

tock

com

pens

atio

n sc

hem

e de

velo

ped

with

gu

idel

ines

focu

sing

on

sele

cted

ag

ricul

ture

com

mod

ities

•A

ko a

gric

ultu

re m

ultip

le c

o-op

erat

ive

is a

gree

d an

d de

velo

p se

para

te re

gula

tion

for l

ives

tock

co

mpe

nsat

ion

mec

hani

sm (i

nitia

lly fo

r Goa

t and

Bu

ffalo

).•

VDC

has

allo

cate

d ce

rtai

n am

ount

of f

und

for t

he

impl

emen

tatio

n of

com

pens

atio

n m

echa

nism

in

Jogi

mar

a VD

C

•Co

oper

ativ

es a

re s

tron

g in

fina

ncia

l man

agem

ent

and

inte

rest

ed in

div

ersi

fyin

g th

eir a

ctiv

ities

– o

ther

in

stitu

tions

hav

e di

fficu

lties

to d

iver

sify

thei

r act

ions

that

is

rela

ted

to fi

nanc

ial m

anag

emen

t •

Invo

lvem

ent o

f poo

r and

vul

nera

ble

com

mun

ities

into

fin

anci

al m

echa

nism

nee

ds th

em to

be

empo

wer

ed fi

rst.

•Re

gula

r mon

itorin

g an

d su

perv

isio

n is

mos

t

•M

ains

trea

min

g of

ada

ptat

ion

plan

in d

iffer

ent

agen

cies

is d

ifficu

lt si

nce

they

hav

e th

eir o

wn

prio

rity

6.In

tegr

atio

n of

ada

ptat

ion

plan

s in

VD

C p

lann

ing

(Jog

imar

a VD

C)

•Co

mm

uniti

es, V

DC

sec

reta

ries,

loca

l CBo

s an

d po

litic

al p

artie

s re

aliz

ed im

port

ance

of a

dapt

atio

n in

de

velo

pmen

t pla

ns.

•Ca

paci

ty o

f poo

r and

vul

nera

ble

com

mun

ities

en

hanc

ed in

ass

essi

ng th

eir p

riorit

ies

in d

evel

opin

g pl

ans.

•Co

mm

uniti

es p

repa

red

thei

r pla

ns a

nd s

ubm

itted

to

the

VDC

.•

VDC

agr

eed

and

inte

grat

ed C

C a

dapt

atio

n pl

ans

into

VD

C p

lann

ing

proc

ess

•A

dapt

atio

n pl

ans

(live

stoc

k co

mpe

nsat

ion

mec

hani

sm, a

war

enes

s ra

isin

g pr

ogra

ms,

mic

ro

irrig

atio

n, s

usta

inab

le a

gric

ultu

re p

ract

ices

) wer

e pr

iorit

ized

and

inco

rpor

ated

into

VD

C p

lann

ing

base

d on

Pai

r-w

ise

rank

ing,

CBA

and

MC

A

•Se

nsiti

zatio

n an

d ex

posu

re h

ighl

y m

otiv

ated

VD

Cs

and

loca

l pol

itica

l mec

hani

sm a

nd le

ader

s fa

rmer

s to

inte

grat

e ad

apta

tion

plan

s in

ann

ual V

DC

pla

nnin

g (E

xpos

ure

and

obse

rvat

ion

of p

erio

dic

plan

in Il

am c

ontr

ibut

ed

to v

isua

lize

the

actio

ns th

at c

ould

be

take

n in

VD

Cs

of

Dha

ding

)

•H

igh

polit

ical

influ

ence

in V

DC

pla

nnin

g an

d im

plem

enta

tion

proc

esse

s•

In a

bsen

ce o

f per

iodi

c pl

anni

ng, V

DC

leve

l pl

ans

are

mor

e fo

cuse

d on

infra

stru

ctur

e de

velo

pmen

t rat

her t

han

sect

oral

issu

es li

ke C

C

impa

cts

(pol

itici

ans

wan

t roa

d co

nstr

uctio

n)•

Mai

nstr

eam

ing

of c

limat

e ad

apta

tion

som

etim

es c

reat

es c

onfli

cts

with

dev

elop

men

t in

terv

entio

ns. I

n m

ost c

ases

mor

e vi

sibl

e de

velo

pmen

t int

erve

ntio

ns g

et p

riorit

ized

.•

Dev

elop

men

t int

erve

ntio

ns c

an b

e un

derm

ined

by

CC u

nles

s pl

ans

are

clim

ate

proo

fed.

7.St

reng

then

ing

agric

ultu

re,

fore

stry

, env

ironm

ent a

nd

indu

stry

com

mitt

ee a

t DD

C le

vel

•A

gric

ultu

re, F

ores

try,

Env

ironm

ent a

nd In

dust

ry

Com

mitt

ee u

nder

DD

C s

tren

gthe

ned

to in

tegr

ate

clim

ate

chan

ge is

sues

at d

istr

ict l

evel

•G

uide

lines

and

regu

latio

ns o

f sec

tora

l com

mitt

ees

with

in D

DC

nee

d to

revi

sed

on p

erio

dic

basi

s an

d al

loca

te c

erta

in fu

nd fo

r im

plem

enta

tion

to m

ake

thes

e co

mm

ittee

s fu

nctio

nal a

nd fr

uitf

ul.

•M

any

sect

oral

com

mitt

ees

are

form

ed u

nder

D

DC

but

not

func

tiona

l•

Hig

h po

litic

al in

fluen

ce in

VD

C a

nd D

DC

pl

anni

ng a

nd im

plem

enta

tion

proc

esse

s

139


Annex 3: Analysis of Strengths and Weakness of vulnerability assessment tools.

Tools Strengths Weakness

• Climate hazard mapping • Easy to use• Physical distribution of hazards can be explained

easily.• Helps to sensitize communities about climate

change impacts• Stimulates discussion making easy for participants

to relate climatic hazards with the resources.

• People in all cases might not be able to precisely delineate the proper boundary of the area especially when the landscape is extended over varied slopes and aspects.

• Can sometimes provide incomplete information if fewer people are available.

• Trend analysis • Provide the insight into the socio-economic and political changes in the past.

• Easy to get information about major climate induced hazards.

• Sensitize communities to become more alert and plan preventive and adaptive measures.

• Easy to find out local practices for adaptation and outside supports from VDC, DDC and other I/L/NGo in different time.

• People feel hesitant to provide information on the historical event as they might not easily remember all the past events.

• Participation of age old people is must as they are the key informants of historical events of climate change.

• Participants feel bore to give periodic information by which they couldn’t get any quick returns.

• Need to clarify to participants about the tools before discussion.

• Climate hazard ranking • Easy to use• Helps to categorize and compare which hazards

are most critical for community and its members (According to more impacts in the past).

• Participants in most of the cases pay their full enthusiasm as they don’t get bored as in lengthy assessment.

• Discussion helps in drawing analytical perspective of communities

• People sometimes may not be able to compare and prioritize among climatic hazards.

• Precise information might not come in absence of proper facilitation.

• Vulnerability assessment • Gives overview of the climatic hazards and their sector wise effects.

• Detail information can be found from the formats

• Time consuming• Participants feel bore to give information about

social factors and groups i.e. hazard impacts to young, elderly, adult, poor, middle, well-off, dalit, janajati, Brahmin.

• CAPWBR • Complex but most important tool for ranking of vulnerable people and group

• Categorizes people actually who need to be focused/supported.

• Can be found vulnerable areas and household people and their status

• It can be guideline for every government and non government organizations

• Time consuming• Sometimes it creates debate among household

people who lies on above mentioned 4 groups• Complex process for ranking

• Tole/Village ranking • Easy to facilitate for this tool with participants• Can be found more information about

vulnerability, economic condition of community people

• Can be created debate among participants for tole/village ranking

140


Figure: Participatory hazard mapping prepared by community

Annex 4: Local Adaptation Plan of Action for Jogimara VDC

Annex 5:

Result of vulnerability assessment, ranking of villages and hazards in Jogimara

Ward Village/Tole Ethnicity Hazards

1 WangrungLamangdungAanptar, AaldandaKharka GaunKami/Rijal GaunMajh GaunGairi GaunTallo LaitakMathillo LaitakDukrangDharmashalaShirdungHugdikhola

ChepangChepangBrahmin, ChhetriGurung, NewarBrahmin, Chhetri, NewarGurungChhetriBrahmin, ChhetriBrahmin, ChhetriChepang, MagarBrahmin, ChetriChepang, GurungChepang, Magar, Gurung

LandslidesHailstoneDroughtHeavy rainfall

2 Jawang Takthali Manthali Jawang Mowakhola

Chepang, GurungChepangChepang, Brahmin, ChhetriChepang

LandslidesDroughtHailstone

3 RandanKaalbhanChaaptarJayapuriKerali

Newar, Brahmin, Magar, Tamang, ChepangBrahmin, ChhetriBrahmin, Magar, ChhetriChepang

HailstoneLandslidesDroughtFloods

141


4 Chilaune paniThansingDunkudandaThapkeKoteSirantoleMajh GaunDandabari

KaamiMagar, KaamiMagar, ChepangMagarMagar, DamaiGurungGurungGurung

LandslidesDroughtHailstoneThrips on oranges

5 KuriniGairangTallo MangrangMathillo MangrangSimteshKuwapaniDeuraniochrangTekwangMarthaliTottharHyakrangDunge

ChepangGurungChepang/MagarChepang/MagarChepangChepangMagarChepang/GurungMagar/ChepangMagarChepangChepangMagar

DroughtHailstoneLandslidesHeavy rainfall

6 BeldandaTauteshKhamteshGairi GaunKurindandaMakimdandaJhaiwangManakamana dandaTallo RowangMathillo Rowang

Bharati, Giri, PuriChepangChepangChepangChepangChepangNewarBharati, Giri, PuriChepangChepang

Landslides/FloodsDroughtHailstoneDiarrhoea

7 BharpangJhiltungThansingDimrangBiteshDhusrangGoru GaunDobaling

NewarNewarChepangNewar, MagarMagarChepangChepangMagar

HailstoneLandslides/floodsDrought

8 Peepal DandaSelangdungPanchlingKharsalam

FloodsLandslidesDroughtHailstone

9 Besi ToleThing bangDakhali GaunMajhimtarChaukitarPhajimtar

DroughtLandslidesHailstone

142

Designing LocaL aDaptation pLans for action for the agricuLture sectorA

nnex

6:

Pair-

wis

e ra

nkin

g co

nduc

ted

to c

ompa

re a

nd ra

nk th

e vi

llage

s ba

sed

on th

e cl

imat

e vu

lner

abili

ties

in Jo

gim

ara

-1

Khar

ka

Gau

nG

airi

G

aun

Tallo

Lai

tak

WR

Kam

i G

aun

Maj

h G

aun

Mat

hillo

Lai

tak

Baga

inch

aA

anpt

ar,

LDD

ukra

ngH

ugdi

khol

aSh

irdun

g

Khar

ka G

aun

*Kh

arka

G

aun

Khar

ka G

aun

WR

Khar

ka

Gau

nKh

arka

G

aun

Khar

ka G

aun

Khar

ka G

aun

Aan

ptar

, LD

Khar

ka G

aun

Khar

ka G

aun

Khar

ka G

aun

Gai

ri G

aun

**

Gai

ri G

aun

WR

Kam

i Gau

nM

ajh

Gau

nG

airi

Gau

nlG

airi

Gau

nA

anpt

ar,

LDG

airi

Gau

nG

airi

Gau

nG

airi

Gau

n

Tallo

Lai

tak

**

*W

RKa

mi G

aun

Maj

h G

aun

Tallo

Lai

tak

Tallo

Lai

tak

Aan

ptar

LDTa

llo L

aita

kTa

llo L

aita

kTa

llo L

aita

k

Wan

grun

g (W

R)*

**

*W

RW

RW

RW

RW

RW

RW

RW

RW

R

Kam

i Gau

n*

**

**

Kam

i Gau

nKa

mi G

aun

Kam

i Gau

nA

anpt

arLD

Kam

i Gau

nKa

mi

Gau

nKa

mi G

aun

Maj

h G

aun

**

**

**

Maj

h G

aun

Maj

h G

aun

Aan

ptar

LDM

ajh

Gau

n M

ajh

Gau

n

Mat

hillo

Lai

tak

**

**

**

*M

athi

llo L

aita

kA

anpt

ar

LDM

athi

llo

Laita

kM

athi

llo L

aita

kM

athi

llo L

aita

k

Baga

inch

a*

**

**

**

*A

anpt

arLD

Duk

rang

Baga

inch

aBa

gain

cha

Aan

ptar

**

**

**

**

* LD

Aan

ptar

, A

anpt

arA

anpt

ar

Lam

angd

ung

(LD

)*

**

**

**

**

*La

man

gdun

gLa

man

gdun

gLa

man

gdun

g

Duk

rang

**

**

**

**

**

*D

ukra

ngD

ukra

ng

Hug

dikh

ola

**

**

**

**

**

*Sh

irdun

g

Shird

ung

**

**

**

**

**

**

*

Tota

l9

65

128

74

210

113

0

143


Annex 7: Result of pair-wise ranking of Villages based upon the climate change vulnerability in ward 1 of Jogimara VDC

Village Name Total score Ranking

Wangrung 12 1

Lamangdung 11 2

Aanptar, Aaldanda 10 3

Kharka Gaun 9 4

Kami/Rijal Gaun 8 5

Majh Gaun/Tallo Phundri Gaun 7 6

Gairi Gaun/Pokharel 6 7

Tallo Laitak 5 8

Mathillo Laitak 4 9

Dukrang 3 10

Dharmashala/Bagaincha 2 11

Shirdung 1 12

Hugdikhola 0 13

Annex 8: Hazard ranking in Jogimara – 1

Landslides Hailstones Drought Heavy rainfall

Landslides * Hailstones Drought Landslides

Hailstones * * Drought Hailstones

Drought * * * Drought

Heavy rainfall * * * *

Annex 9: Result of hazard ranking in Jogimara – 1

Total score Ranking

Drought 3 1

Hailstone 2 2

Landslides 1 3

Heavy rainfall 0 4

Annex 10:

Different hazards, their impacts and adopted coping strategies

Timeline Hazards Impacts Local coping strategies Outer interventions

2011 Landslides Agricultural land converted into unproductive land

Create small plots for agricultural purpose

–

2017 Landslides Livestock loss and damage to the physical property

Communal pooling -

2031 Floods Swept away agricultural land, losses to the agricultural commodities and livestock

Clearing the debris to create the land suitable for agricultural purpose, retaining unstable land with wall, plantation of grass species

–

2036 Landslides Fragmentation and sweeping away of some agricultural land

Clearing the debrises to create the land suitable for agricultural purpose, retaining unstable land with wall, plantation of grass species

–

2050 Heavy rainfall, Landslides

Swept away agricultural land Diversion canal,Plantation of Simali, bamboo, nigalo, ipil-ipil, tanki, napier

DDC provided monetary and food support

2059 Hailstone Damages to the fruits (oranges) and fodder Livestock loss

Attempted to protect organges using net but not successful

–

2064 Hailstone Damages to the shoots of Sal (Shorea robusta), damages to the vegetables, fruits, maize, life loss of birds

Cultivating maize for the second time DADo provided vegetable seeds

2066 Drought, Heavy wind, Hailstone

Dried water sources, agricultural productivity limited only to the 1/4th

Fetching water from greater distances, loans from local creditor to buy foods, labour work, migration for work

–

144


Ann

ex 1

1:Co

mm

unit

y ad

apta

tion

plan

to a

ddre

ss th

e cl

imat

e ch

ange

impa

cts

Villa

ge/T

ole

Impa

cts/

Haz

ards

Ada

ptat

ion

prac

tice

Purp

ose

Whe

nRe

sour

ce c

ontr

ibut

ion

Com

mun

ities

VDC/

DD

Cot

hers

Kam

i Tol

e, M

ajh

Gau

n,

Wan

grun

gD

roug

ht le

adin

g to

de

clin

ed fo

od p

rodu

ctiv

ity.

Wat

er h

arve

stin

g an

d st

orag

e ta

nkCo

llect

the

rain

wat

er a

nd s

tore

to b

e us

ed d

urin

g dr

ough

t20

67 C

haitr

a25

%50

%25

%

Maj

h G

aun

and

Lam

angd

ung

Land

slid

esG

abio

n Bo

x, R

eten

tion

wal

l Pla

ntat

ion

of

tree

s, N

apie

r, A

mris

o, Ip

il-Ip

il, N

igal

o an

d H

edge

row

pla

ntat

ion

(SA

LT)

Reta

inin

g un

stab

le la

nd, S

oil c

onse

rvat

ion,

Sto

p la

ndsl

ide

by in

crea

sing

land

sta

bilit

y

2067

Cha

itra

20%

60%

20%

Mat

hillo

Lai

taak

Land

slid

e in

drin

king

wat

er

sour

ceW

ater

sou

rce

mai

nten

ance

and

pr

otec

tion

Incr

ease

drin

king

wat

er a

vaila

bilit

y an

d sa

ve ti

me

need

ed to

fetc

h w

ater

from

gra

ter d

ista

nces

.20

67 C

haitr

a25

%65

%10

%

Maj

h G

aun,

Kam

i Gau

n, G

airi

Gau

n, A

ampt

ar, K

hark

a G

aun

Incr

ease

d pe

st a

nd

dise

ases

in a

gric

ultu

ral

crop

s

Shed

impr

ovem

ent,

Impl

emen

tatio

n of

IPM

con

duct

ing

Farm

ers

Fiel

d Sc

hool

Man

age

and

use

lives

tock

’s ur

ine

and

redu

ce u

se

of c

hem

ical

fert

ilize

rs, p

rom

ote

biol

ogic

al p

estic

ide

and

inse

ctic

ide

2067

Pou

sh-

Cha

itra

30%

50%

20%

Annex 12: Hazards and relevant adaptation measures analysed during VDC level workshop

S. No. Hazards Adaptation Measures

1 Drought Rain water collection and storageIrrigationEfficient use of water and managementMixed cropping/crop diversificationSelect drought resilient agricultural cropPlantation of fruit treesMulchingPlantation and protection of forestWater source protectionUse of water pump Agro forestry practices

2 Hailstone Use of netAlternate timing to avoid hailstoneCrop diversificationCrop insuranceMixed cropping

3 Landslide Plantation and forest protectionGabion boxRetention wallPlantation of fast growing species such as Amriso, Napier, Nigalo, Bamboo, Simali etcHedgerow plantationStopping mine blastingMine managementAwareness raising activities

145


Ann

ex 1

3:

Pair-

wis

e ra

nkin

g at

VD

C le

vel o

f ada

ptat

ion

inte

rven

tions

Wat

er s

ourc

e pr

otec

tion

Plan

tatio

nRa

in w

ater

co

llect

ion

Irri

gatio

nSu

stai

nabl

e ag

ricu

lture

Live

stoc

k cr

op

insu

ranc

eRe

tent

ion

wal

lPu

blic

aw

aren

ess

Alte

rnat

ive

ener

gy

Wat

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146


Annex 14: An example of showing how Cost Benefit Analysis and multi-criteria assessment was conducted for adaptation interventions

Table: Result of cost-benefit analysis conducted for adaptation interventions

Options Costs Benefits B/C ratio

Economic Social Environment Total Eco Social Env Total

Irrigation 0.22 0.001 1.602 1.823 10 2.4 1.5 13.9 13.9/1.823 = 7.62

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CSIRC* 3.28 0.5 0.5 4.28 2.5 2.4 0.2 5.1 5.1/4.28 = 1.19

* Community seed and information resource centre

Table: Result of multi-criteria assessment conducted for adaptation interventions

Criteria Irrigation Scheme Water harvesting pond CSIRC

B/C ratio 3 2 1

Vulnerability 1 3 2

Gender 2 3 1

Social inclusion/Poverty 1 2 3

Poor and marginalized HH 1 2 3

Total 8 12 10

147

Designing LocaL aDaptation pLans for action for the forestry sector

Designing Local adaptation plans for action for the forestry sector

submitteD toClimate Change Adaptation and Design Project Nepal (CADP-N)Lalitpur, Nepal

submitteD byRupantaran Nepal

February, 2011

Climate Adaptation Design and Pilot - Nepal (CADP-N) is a DFID supported study that aims at mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development planning. We acknowledge the support of the Climate Change Adaptation Design Project Nepal (CADP-N) for giving us the responsibility and entrusting us to carry out the piloting and scoping the Local Adaptation Plan of Action in Nawalparasi, Pyuthan and Rukum districts.

We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Dr Deepak Rijal - National Facilitator, CADP-N for help in designing the study. Similarly, we would also like to acknowledge the continual contribution and support of Mr. Yogendra Bijukchhen - CADP-N Office manager, for timely release of finances and other necessary arrangements. Similarly we would like to acknowledge Ms Sibongile Pradhan for editing and constructing the report.

We would like to thank the Department for International Development (DFID) for providing necessary suggestions and feedback while conducting the scoping study. Thanks are due to Mr Bimal Regmi, Climate Change and Natural Resources Advisor, DFID, for providing valuable suggestions during the study.

We would like to thank the Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP) for the partial financial support and its involvement during the scoping study. It would have been impossible to carry out the study without the support of LFP central, regional and district offices. Thanks are due to LFP central team namely Mr Vijay Narayan Shrestha - Programme Manager, Mr Ramu Subedi - Deputy Programme Manager, Mr Bishwas Rana - Planning and Monitoring Advisor for their support during the study. Similarly, Rupantaran Nepal would like to acknowledge the support RB Shrestha and LFP Terai team, LFP Mid west team and Mr Jhalak Poudel-District Programme Coordinator, Pyuthan for their extensive support of in the field.

We thank Ms Nanki Kaur and Dr Simon Anderson from IIED for inputs and guidance during the study and writing up.

Support of partner NGOs, namely SAHAMATI-Nawalparasi, FIRDO-Pyuthan, and MIC-RUKUM is acknowledged with appreciation.

And last but not the least, we are thankful for all the organizations and people of Sukrouli, Dhungegadi and Ransi VDCs who took time out of their busy schedule to provide us with their valuable inputs and suggestions during the study.

Rupantaran NepalFebruary, 2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

149

ExECUTIVE SUMMARY

The design of the Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA) for the forestry sector was commissioned by Rupantaran Nepal in Sukrouli VDC of Nawalparasi district, Dhungegadi VDC of Pyuthan District and Ransi VDC of Rukum district. The broad aim of the pilot was to explore the adaptation interventions and mechanisms in the forestry sector. Specifically, the study aimed to assess the effectiveness of adaptation interventions in the forestry sector, and to assess the institutional mechanisms to reach up and draw down resources and implement the activities of the LAPA. The purpose of the pilot was to prepare LAPAs in three distinct ecological zones and assess any constraints, assess the mechanisms to reach up and draw down, and to document the key lessons learnt from this exercise.

The key steps pertaining to this study included sensitization, identifying poor and vulnerable households, facilitating the preparation of the LAPA, identifying and assessing the different mechanisms, assessing the role of key and boundary actors and mainstreaming the LAPA into the local planning process. Two different modalities were adopted during the LAPA process: Community Adaptation Plans of Action (CAPA) to LAPA and a direct LAPA. The CAPA, which was prepared at Community Forest User Group (CFUG) level and then synthesized into the Village Development Committee (VDC) level LAPA, was more effective than developing the LAPA directly, which was only prepared at VDC level. This was because the chances of duplication of activities were nullified and the activities were more realistic and needs based. Communities prepare plans on their own in a CAPA to LAPA modality, showing enhanced ownership within each community.

CFUGs were identified as the most effective way to reach the climate vulnerable. Private, public and civil institutions can reach the poor through Village Forestry Coordination Committees (VFCCs), who often have a direct link to poor and vulnerable households. VFCCs deliver the activities to the identified poor and vulnerable either directly or through the CFUGs.

Adaptation plans drawn up by CFUGs are shared with the citizen forum (of VDC) and forwarded to the VFCC. The individual CAPAs are synthesised by the VFCCs to form a VDC level LAPA. The VFCC shares the plan with the VDC and Ilaka, and after approval from the VDC council they submit it to the District Forestry Coordination Committee (DFCC). In order to develop the district level LAPA, the DFCC, Activity Management Committee (AMC) and the Forestry Committee compile all the VDC level LAPA, prioritize the activities, set the implementation modality and incorporate the activities into the annual planning cycle of government and non government agencies. The findings from this pilot showed that the LAPA should be mainstreamed into the planning cycle of VDC and DDC for its sustainability.

The financial plans are prepared by the communities and financial resources are pulled down from the district. In the normal scenario, funds from the central level are channelled through an established basket fund from the DFCC to VFCCs for effective implementation of the LAPA.

151

152


In places where the DFCC or VFCC does not exist, the fund from the central level should be channelled through the DDC/VDC, or through NGOs. In the case of conflict areas, funds should flow through a multi stakeholder forum at the district and village level.

A total of 20 technical interventions were identified and grouped into four broad categories: 1. enhancing ecosystem resilience that increase adaptive capacity, 2. enhancing community resilience, 3. knowledge management and climate foresight, and 4. social protection and safety nets. These interventions are classified according to the three ecological zones: the high mountains, the mid hills and the lowlands of the Terai.

The roles of key stakeholders in the LAPA preparation and implementation were also identified and assessed. CFUGs at the community level, VFCCs at the VDC level and the DFCC at district level were found to be the most viable institutions for LAPA preparation. These are all are resource based, viable, locally accepted and have vertical and horizontal linkages with stakeholders. Amongst them, the VFCCs are regarded as the most important institution for LAPA preparation. Where VFCCs and DFCCs are not functional, other bodies that can be used are the VDCs, DDC, or a multi-stakeholder forum to prepare and implement the LAPA.

The major constraints during the LAPA preparation were: inclusion of people who are not included in any institutions, ensuring the fund flow continues even in a conflict situation, representing the poor and vulnerable in preparing the plans, and mainstreaming the LAPA into the planning of the DDC and other stakeholders (or boundary partners).

Key lessons learnt during the LAPA preparation include:• Sensitizationofstakeholdersandinvolvementfromtheinitialphasehelptocreate

an enabling environment to carry out climate change related activities, building local ownership and bringing in support for delivering the programme.

• LAPAsshouldbecommissionedthroughresourcefulandviableinstitutionswhichhavea wide geological coverage in addition to vertical and horizontal linkages to other stakeholders.

• VFCCsatvillagelevelandtheDFCCatdistrictlevelhavebeenidentifiedasthemulti-stakeholder forum that is most viable to prepare and implement LAPAs for the forestry sector, as well as in other sectors.

• Establishingabasketfundandemergencyfundatvillageanddistrictlevelisagoodinitiative; fund disbursement will be flexible enough to provide immediate financial support to the poor and vulnerable who will be better placed to access them.

• Leveragingfinancialandtechnicalresourcesfromvariousgovernmentlineagenciesandlocal government was found to be one of the main principles for the sustainability of the programme.

• Incomesourceofclimatevulnerablehouseholdsandgroupsshouldbediversifiedtoincrease their adaptive capacity.

• Aclearpolicyatthelocallevelisrequiredthatwillallocateacertainpercentageoffundsto address climate change issues. It has been observed that despite the allocation, the influence of some groups can divert the funds to non prioritized areas.

• AcentrallevelpolicyordirectiveisrequiredtocommissiontheLAPAatdistrictlevel.The Ministry of Environment (MoE) should prepare this policy with support from other government line agencies.

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Key recommendations for LAPA preparation and implementation include:• Identificationofclimatechangevulnerablehouseholdsisthemostimportantstepin

designing a LAPA. These can be identified by using Climate Change Sensitive Participatory Well Being Ranking (PWBR) tools.

• Theparticipationofidentifiedpoorandvulnerablehouseholdsandcommunitiesduringthe CAPA preparation should be ensured. Activities identified by them to increase their adaptive capacity should be well documented and prioritized during the CAPA preparation.

• MembersofVFCCsshouldbecapacitatedtoprepareandimplementtheLAPA.Oncethey are capacitated, they can use the available funds (either self generated or through a basket fund) to prepare CAPAs at community level.

• Representativesfromstakeholdersofdifferentorganizationsplayagreaterroleinthedrawing down of resources. Public, private and civil society organization representation in the service delivery mechanisms makes the reach up and draw down process more simple.

• Thecommunitiesandhouseholdsthatarenotorganizedinanyforestrymanagementsystem should be linked to an institution. This part is not explicitly mentioned during the LAPA preparation. One option could be the formulation of a multi stakeholder forum (VDC, local NGOs, private institutions) that can address the needs of excluded households and communities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 149

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 151

TAbLE Of CONTENTS 155

1. INTRODUCTION 157 1.1 Background 157 1.2 Rationale 158 1.3 Study Objectives 158

2. METHODOLOGY 159 2.1 Activities 159 2.2 Approaches and Tools 160 2.2.1 Review and Assess the Existing Tools 160 2.2.2 Review and Assess the Community Adaptation Planning Process 160 2.2.3 Reviewing and Assessing the Role of Local Institutions 160 2.2.4 LAPA Preparation 160 2.2.5 Integrating LAPA in Local Development Planning Cycle 161 2.2.6 Assessing and Identifying Finance and Service Delivery Mechanism 161 2.2.7 Assessing the Existing Forestry Interventions 161 2.2.8 Synthesizing the adaptation Priorities of CAPA and LAPA 161 2.2.9 Cross Cutting: Monitoring and Evaluation 162 2.2.10 Cross Cutting: Cost Benefit Analysis 162 2.2.11 Reporting 162 2.3 Pilot Area- Geographic and Socioeconomic Overview 162

3. fINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 1643.1 Review and Update of Tools 164 3.1.1 Tools of Vulnerability Assessment: 164 3.1.2 Review of CAPA Process and Tools 1663.2 Assessing the Roles of Forestry Institutions in Integrating CCA into Local

Development Planning 167 3.2.1 Assessing Roles of Existing Institutions 167 3.2.2 LAPA Preparation 168 3.2.3 Integration of LAPA into Local Development Planning 1703.3 Assessing the Appropriate Financial and Service Delivery Mechanism to

Reach the Most Vulnerable. 171

TABLE OF CONTENTS

155

3.4 Identifying Specific Interventions to Build Adaptive Capacity of the most vulnerable Communities in Midwest Region. 173

3.4.1 Monitoring and Evaluation 174 3.5 Identifying and Addressing Barriers and Gaps 175 3.6 Learning 175

4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 178 4.1 Conclusion 178 4.2 Recommendations 180

REfERENCES 182Annex 1: Adaptation interventions 183Annex 2: Logical Framework 187

List of PicturesPicture 1: Overall Vulnerability Map of Nepal (MoE/NAPA 2010) 162

List of figuresFigure 1: LAPA preparation process 168Figure 2: Mechanism to reach-up the plan 170Figure 3: Fund flow mechanism as identified during scoping 172Figure 4: A five year adaptation plan as presented by CFUGs during consultationmeeting at Dhungegadi VDC. 174

List of TablesTable 1: Consultation with different stakeholders at different levels 160Table 2: Tools used during LAPA preparation 161Table 3: Description of three piloting sites under different parameters 163Table 4: Gaps identified in the indicators are given in the table below 165Table 5: Shifting of Households 166Table 6: Roles of Institutions 168Table 7: Illustrated example of LAPA Dhungegadi 169Table 8: Lists of interventions 173

156


1.1 Background

Climate Change (CC) has become a global concern and Nepal needs to be prepared to face the impacts on its undulating landscape and geographical fragility together with the country’s rising poverty. Climate change effects include increased and variable temperature patterns and changes in precipitation patterns, which in turn will impact a number of sectors and livelihoods across Nepal. Poor people, excluded groups and marginalised communities are highly vulnerable to these effects and a national integrated effort is needed to address climate change adaptation and mitigation activities.

The Government of Nepal (GoN) aims to address climate-induced vulnerability and has initiated the process of adaptation planning, which takes the form of the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA). However, the GoN realised that this process needs to reflect the diverse ecological and planning zones in Nepal– thus proposed the concept of Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA). This pilot contributes to understanding what a LAPA would entail.

Among the six thematic areas set by the NAPA process in Nepal, Forest and Biodiversity is one of the crucial themes to be addressed under climate change adaptation. Nepal comprises 29% of total land area covered by forests (HMGN/MoFSC 2002) and about 40% of the total population of Nepal are involved in community based forest management systems. About 14,500 Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) are managing 1.25 million hectares of National Forest (Department of Forest 2010). CFUGS are resource-based institutions and many have already contributed to reduced vulnerability and improved livelihoods, they also have a huge potential to contribute to mitigation and adaptation simultaneously as a co-benefit of each intervention.

Within the forest and biodiversity sector, there are a number of initiatives that can contribute to the design of the LAPA or what a LAPA can build on. Rupantaran Nepal (RN) has specifically focused on one such approach adopted by the Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP) - namely the Community Adaptation Plans of Action (CAPA) process. CAPA is an adaptation plan prepared by CFUGs. CAPA is considered as the best practice to ensure the bottom up planning process because the plans are prepared and prioritized by the communities themselves.

RN is an independent, not-for-profit company founded by a group of development professionals and social activists. Its broad aim is to use the long-term development experience of likeminded forestry sector professionals and contribute to the national

INTRODUCTION

157

158

development goals. The key working areas of the organisation are social empowerment, economic development and empowerment, natural resource management and climate change.

1.2 Rationale

There is ample ambiguity between adaptation interventions and development, largely due to the fact that climate change is very often difficult to separate from development plans, specifically in least developed countries like Nepal. Therefore a clear understanding of climate change adaptation is necessary before implementing adaptation or development projects. At the same time, a broader understanding of sectoral planning and monitoringsystemsisrequiredthatcaneasily feed in to the tools and mechanisms for adaptation design and piloting.

LFP has delivered several adaptation interventions that target the poor and vulnerable in the pilot sites; they have supported the development of 978 CAPAs in 2,292 community groups covering 223,963 households in 512 VDCs of Nepal. Most of the CAPAs have been endorsed by an assembly of each community and are now in the process of implementation. There still remains an issue of up-scaling

and mainstreaming the plan into the development planning process so that its’ sustainability can be ensured.

In this regard, the GoN specifically asked for the design of the LAPA as an implementation modality which will capture local conditions. Based on this, Rupantaran Nepal’s (and other pilots) objective was to identify effective local adaptation interventions and to identify the mechanism for bottom-up planning to ensure the reach up of plans and draw down of resources that will cater to local adaptation needs.

1.3 Study Objectives

The broader objective of the pilot programme was to explore adaptation interventions and mechanisms in the forestry sector. The specific objectives included:• Reviewandupdatetoolsforclimate

change vulnerability assessment• Assesstheroleofforestryinstitutionsin

integrating climate change adaptation into development planning

• Assesstheappropriatefinancialandservice delivery mechanisms to reach the most vulnerable

• Identifyspecificinterventionstobuildthe adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable communities in the Midwest region


159

METHODOLOGY

A literature review was conducted to understand climate induced changes in the forestry sector. Some of the reviewed literatures included GoN/MoE 2010a, GoN/MoE 2009, District Forestry Sector Plan of Pyuthan, LFP 2009, Regmi and Subedi 2010, Regmi et al. 2010 & prepared CAPAs. Initial scoping field visits and interactions were conducted to identify study sites & variables that could contribute to the design of a LAPA.

2.1 Activities

The following activities were carried out under each objective.

Objective 1: Review and update tools for climate change vulnerability assessment• Existingvulnerabilityassessmentandmonitoringandevaluationtoolsreviewedandassessed

in the context of climate change. Specific tools reviewed were Participatory Well Being Ranking (PWBR) tool and Forest User Groups (FUG) categorization tool.

• Existingcommunityadaptationplanningprocessreviewedtoassessitseffectiveness.

Objective 2: Assess the role of forestry institutions in integrating climate change adaptation into development planning• Assessedtheroleoflocalinstitutionsvis-a-visclimatechangeadaptationplanning.

Forestry institutions reviewed included: CFUG; PILMG; VFCC; DFCC; MoFSC Line Agency (DFO & DSCO). Broader planning institutions included: VDC; DDC; MoA Line Agency (DADO & DLSO); MoH Line Agency (DHO). Planning facilitated by local NGOs and cooperatives was also assessed.

• LAPAPreparation• IntegratingLAPAintolocaldevelopmentplanningcycle.

Objective 3: Assess the appropriate finance and service delivery mechanisms to reach the most vulnerable. • Assessedandidentifiedthemostappropriatefinanceandservicedeliverymechanisms

that will reach the climate vulnerable.

Objective 4: Identify specific interventions to build the adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable communities in the Midwest region.• Assessedtherelevanceofexistingforestryinterventionsinenhancingadaptivecapacity• Synthesisedadaptationprioritiesidentifiedbylocalcommunitieswhilepreparingthe

CAPA and LAPA

160


2.2 Approaches and Tools

A participatory approach was followed during piloting to ensure the incorporation of adaptation priorities and planning frameworks of the most vulnerable. Similarly, a multi stakeholder approach, a conflict sensitive approach (an approach that can be used during a period of conflict) and an inclusive targeting approach were adopted during the design of the LAPA. The study was built on earlier works of LFP in the region, focusing on Community Adaptation Plans of Action (CAPA). A methodical approach was developed while piloting using the following steps:

2.2.1 Review and Assess the Existing ToolsParticipatory Well being Ranking (PWbR) Tool: LAPA piloting started with the identification of climate change vulnerable households and communities. The existing PWBR tool was updated with climate sensitive criteria and indicators to identify poor and vulnerable households in the context of climate change. The location of assetsandtheirquality,aswellasknowledgeof climate change was incorporated into the climate sensitive PWBR. The participation of the poor and vulnerable was ensured during community level LAPA preparation and adaptation activities were designed to focus specifically on them.

fUGs Categorization Tools: RN examined FUG categorization tools adopted by DFO and VFCC. Once the tool incorporated climate sensitive indicators, it was used to identify the most vulnerable FUGs.

2.2.2 Review and Assess the Community Adaptation Planning ProcessLFP facilitated in developing community adaptation plans in the Midwest region. The CAPA development process initiated by LFP was reviewed to assess its effectiveness. CAPA at CFUG level and LAPA at village level were prepared based on the review of the prepared CAPA and CAPA preparation toolkit.

2.2.3 Assessing the Role of Local InstitutionsThe role of three levels of forest and other institutions towards CAPA preparation were assessed. They were regularly consulted and sensitized towards the impacts of climate change and needs for adaptation interventions. A list of local institutions is given in table 1.

2.2.4 LAPA PreparationThe LAPA piloting started with sharing the scoping and designing outcomes with district and village level stakeholders. Two village level LAPAs were prepared in Ransi and Sukrouli VDCs, whereas nine community level CAPAs were prepared and later synthesized into a VDC level LAPA in Dhungegadi VDC. Table 2 presents the tools used during LAPA preparation and what these tools were designed to do.

Some modifications were made to the tools that were developed by LFP during the LAPA preparation. The modifications included: past situations, observed and projected impacts on thematic areas incorporated into a single table, impacts level and their ranking were used instead of vulnerability matrix, and

Table 1: Consultation with different stakeholders at different levels

1 District Level District Development Committee (DDC), District Forest Office (DFO), District Forest Coordination Committee (DFCC), LFP, District Agricultural Development office (DADO), District Livestock Service Office (DLSO), District Soil Conservation Office (DSCO), representatives of political parties

2 Village Level Village Development Committee (VDC), Village Forest Coordination Committee (VFCC), Partner NGOs, Health Posts, Range Posts, government service centres

3 Community Level C/FUGs, Public and Institutional Land Management Groups (PILMG), Cooperatives, Local Communities (focusing on poor and vulnerable), Interest groups (Tole level committee)

161


the inclusion of monitoring and evaluation indicators in CAPA/ LAPA.

Prioritization of activities was based on the feasibility of the programme, the cost of the intervention and the number of beneficiaries, and how the activities addresses the climate impact. Activities that received the highest score from these criteria were chosen as the intervention in community and village level LAPAs. Cost effectiveness of the programme was assessed through a Cost Benefit Analysis.

Assess and Identify Fund Flow and Service Delivery Mechanisms: the fund flow and service delivery mechanism was assessed and identified for the effective implementation of Lapa. the mechanism was also identified for the transition and critical stage. the identified mechanism focused on reaching the climate change poor and vulnerable households.

2.2.5 Integrating LAPA in Local Development Planning Cycle Activities related to climate change adaptation that were identified during community and village level LAPA preparation were incorporated in the planning of boundary actors (Institutions supporting communities in scaling up plans, and drawing down the

resources. A few of the communities’ plans can be incorporated in the annual plans of boundary actors) and government line agencies (VDC, DDC). Efforts were paid to endorse the activities through the VDC assembly and the VFCC general meeting.

2.2.6 Assessing and Identifying Finance and Service Delivery MechanismThe existing finance delivery mechanism was assessed in three of the pilot sites. Similarly, the viable finance and service delivery mechanism was identified with the consultation of community members, government line agencies and concerned NGOs.

2.2.7 Assessing the Existing Forestry InterventionsLFP has previously implemented several adaptation interventions in the region. The activities already involved in these interventions were analysed to assess their effectiveness in enhancing adaptive capacity. This was done through Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and visual observations.

2.2.8 Synthesizing the adaptation Priorities of CAPA and LAPAThe adaptation interventions as prioritized during CAPA to LAPA preparation were reviewed, synthesized and clustered.

Table 2: Tools used during LAPA preparation

SN Tools Aimed at

1 Timeline assessing the past climatic hazards in the area

2 Seasonal Calendar comparing the climate shift from past to present

3 Hazard Mapping locating the vulnerable areas in the region

4 Vulnerability Matrix assessing the impacts and adaptive capacity

5 Identification of Vulnerable HHs identifying the vulnerable households from hazards

6 Identification of Adaptation strategy and their prioritization

identifying and prioritizing the Adaptation Measures

7 Institutional Mapping identifying the role of institutions in integrating the LAPA and providing services to the community

8 Cost Benefit Analysis assessing the cost effectiveness of adaptation interventions

9 Planning CCA interventions prioritizing the adaptation interventions and integrating into the planning cycle

10 Monitoring and Evaluation Activities assessing the effectiveness of the interventions

162


2.2.9 Cross Cutting: Monitoring and EvaluationA framework for outcome mapping was developed and shared with boundary partners for mainstreaming monitoring and evaluation. CFUGs were consulted to develop the adaptive monitoring indicators for CAPA. A public auditing tool was completed by an individual consultant and used as a mandatory process during the piloting. Monitoring tools and approaches that are being practiced by CfUGs were reviewed and updated with a CC sensitive perspective. A joint monitoring visit with stakeholders was carried out during the LAPA preparation to ensure participation of vulnerable households and communities, and to understand the LAPA development process better, in order to replicate it in other VDCs/areas. Regular consultations with local stakeholders (political parties, local bodies and donor supported programmes) were organized to receive general feedback as part of the monitoring process.

2.2.10 Cross Cutting: Cost Benefit AnalysisA Cost-Benefit Analysis of adaptation activities was used to assess the selection of cost effective activities and to provide long term economic, social and environmental

benefits. The CBA was carried out in Dhungegadi VDC.

2.2.11 Reporting The information collected during the scoping study was analyzed, the LAPA process from two different methods (CAPA to LAPA, and direct LAPA) were discussed, climate-friendly technical interventions were identified and key lessons learnt were discussed.

2.3 Pilot Area- Geographic and Socioeconomic Overview

The piloting was done in three different ecological and geographical regions of Nepal with the forestry sector as the entry point. Sukrouli VDC of Nawalparasi district represents the lower flatland of Terai, Dhungegadi VDC of Pyuthan represents the mid hill and Ransi VDC of Rukum represents the high mountainous region. Nawalparasi and Rukum district fall in the moderate vulnerable zone while Pyuthan falls in the low vulnerable zone of the NAPA vulnerability assessment (Picture 1 and Table 3). The three selected VDCs fall under the working area of the Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP). LFP has supported the development of 978 CAPAs in 2,292 community groups covering 223,963 households in 512 VDCs of Nepal. Most of the CAPAs have been endorsed by an assembly of the communities and are in the process of implementation. Assuming that the LAPA study in the forestry sector could benefit from existing practices in the LFP area, LFP also contributed to RN for the scoping study and pilot.

A detailed pilot was carried out in Dhungegadi VDC and Sukrouli and Ransi were used as case studies for future extension. The CAPA was prepared for nine CFUGs in Dhungegadi VDC and later synthesized to a single LAPA at VDC level, whereas at VDC level LAPA was prepared at Sukrouli and Ransi VDCs. PILMG acts as FUGs in Sukrouli and the LAPA is prepared with their active representation.

Picture 1:Overall Vulnerability Map of Nepal (MoE/NAPA 2010)

163


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FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

This section outlines the findings within the four objectives of the study.

3.1 Review and Update Tools

Climate change poses significant challenges to development, poverty reduction and sustainable natural resource management. In light of these challenges, a team reviewed the robustness of existing tools and processes of the vulnerability assessment and planning.

3.1.1 Tools of Vulnerability Assessment:

PWBR Tools ReviewedThe PWBR indicators and process developed from the Pro-Poor Social Inclusion Strategy (LFP 2005) were reviewed (details of PWBR on separate report). It is important to note that LFP is using the same tools that were prepared from PPSI. Similarly, well being ranking indicators and processes as outlined in the community forestry guideline were also reviewed. There were not any significant differences between the two sets of indicators and processes. Based on these two sets of indicators and the literature review, gaps were identified which need to be addressed to develop the climate sensitive PWBR tools. These are illustrated in Table 4.

Gaps in the ProcessesWhile analyzing climate change sensitivity and vulnerability of communities, facilitators need to be aware of the location of the community’s assets and potential environmental threats. Likewise, maps of existing agricultural systems, type of land, irrigation facilities and other infrastructures of the society should be considered before commencing the PWBR process. This enables the facilitator to closely examine and test the indicators and helps to validate/verify the facts during discussions. A transect walk method is necessary for this process but it is not explicitly mentioned in the existing PWBR processes.

The existing practice of PWBR has its focus on analyzing the internal resources and their distributioninthecommunity.Alltypesofassetsarebeinganalyzedonthebasisofquantityandqualityandaregenerallycomparedwithotherhouseholdsofthesamecommunity.Theprocess does not address awareness on environmental and climatic factors and their impact on existing assets. Facilitators must focus on external environmental hazards and risks to make the PWBR process more climate sensitive, which was not mentioned in the earlier process.

More importantly, the existing process does not explain the effects of climate change on the communities. In the present context, it is obligatory to share the present and anticipated

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Table 4:Gaps identified in the indicators are given in the table below

Existing Criteria and Indicators

Indicators to be considered to make them climate sensitive (as mentioned in literature)

Gaps Identified

Economic capital

• Land

• House

• Livestock

• Income sources

• Location of the land and house i.e. slope, river bank, erosion susceptible area, geology (stability, types of soil and rocks) etc

• Rain fed or Irrigated land

• Effect of heat and cold on the house

• Livestock that depend on rangelands or CF for grazing or have alternate feeds,

• Availability of water to livestock

• Major sources of income.

• Farmers’ vulnerability towards CC.

• Capacity to cope with shocks and failures / climate hazards or in other words purchasing power or capitalization of assets to adapt to CC

• Location of land needs to be considered along with the area.

• types of houses were mentioned (but previously it did not mention whether it is heat or cold sensitive) Location of the house (river banks, erosion susceptible areas etc) needs to be considered.

• Indicators were based on the number of livestock. Management and accessibility of grazing land, source of water for livestock etc were not considered.

• Existing PWBR considers source of income and ranked accordingly. Livelihood diversification and alternative sources of income were not addressed.

Social capital

• Education

• Health

• Access to social institutions that deal with climate hazards, risks and vulnerability

• Social network and cohesion that helps to adapt the climate change impacts

• Access to climate related information and media.

• Access and use of the social assets that makes people aware of climate change were not considered.

Human capital

• Access to training, education, knowledge

• Health condition

• Information on climate change, its impacts and adaptation measures

• Experience and knowledge on adaptation activities

• Education was limited to academic degree.

• Access to knowledge on climate change adaptation and adaptation measures were lacking

• Health related issues were more focused on chronic types of disease and disability rather than considering climate change induced water and air borne diseases.

Physical capital

• Irrigation facilities,

• Access to health and education infrastructures

• Access and types of irrigation canal, road, electricity, communication, educational institutions, health service centres, toilets, improved cooking stoves.

• Types of the services were not considered

• Qualitative analysis was missing.

• Impact of CC on physical capital and assets was not considered.

Natural capital

• Rivers, forest and access to other natural resources

• Distance to the river system (opportunity and threats from the river)

• Drinking water source and its permanence

• Forest types and dependence

• Location of these resources was not analyzed.

• Access and use rights of poor and marginalized communities were not properly addressed

impacts of climate change. This enables communities to understand CC, its role in vulnerability analysis and helps them to be better prepared.

Categorizing households into different classes is a serious and critical task and therefore cross-validation of the information after the PWBR is necessary. Cross-validation is completed through individual or group meetings of the concerned and surrounding

households, it is important for the proper execution of climate sensitive PWBR.

The nine CFUGs of Dhungegadi VDC already identified poor and vulnerable households with the general PWBR tools. The updated tool was tested in nine CFUGs during the piloting. Table 5 shows the shifting of households by applying the general PWBR and then the climate sensitive PWBR.

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166


Climate change induced poor and vulnerable households were segregated from the updated PWBR tool. The tool was simple and it was believed that CFUGs can identify climate change induced poor and vulnerable with the facilitation of LRPs. It was observed that changing household numbers in CFUGs makes the assessment challenging.

FUG Categorization tools ReviewedFUG categorization tools were used in assessing the change in terms of forest development, FUGs governance and livelihoods improvement. The Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP) categorises the FUGs once every two years to assess their relative capacity. During the review it was observed that separate indicators that target the poor, excluded and vulnerable fromaclimateperspectivearenotrequired.

However,embeddingisrequiredinordertomake the indicators more climate sensitive. It was realised that this tool can be used to identify climate vulnerable FUGs by incorporating the severity of hazards, climate impacts and access to services to enhance adaptive capacity.

3.1.2 Review of CAPA Process and ToolsLFP introduced CAPA preparation1 in 2009 to identify community adaptation priorities, to respond to climate change impacts, and to build the adaptive capacity of the poor and vulnerable. The CAPA process ensured the scaling out of climate change adaptation issues to the community level, and simultaneously helped in sensitizing communities towards issues on climate change.

A study team reviewed the CAPA preparation process to identify gaps in the existing planning process and tools to draw out lessons to inform future actions during the LAPA preparation. The review also aimed at understanding the concerns and feedbacks regarding the CAPA process. The review identified CAPA as a timely initiative, as well as a first in the forestry sector. The tools and processes of CAPA are relatively simple, practicable and replicable, although the review recommended modifying the vulnerability assessment tools. For example, the vulnerability matrix should be revised to make it simpler. The review recommended ten out of 13 tools that are applicable during the LAPA preparation and Rupantaran Nepal followed these ten tools. Please refer to table 2 for the list of ten tools used (separate report on CAPA Review).

Table 5:Shifting of Households

Well off Medium Poor Very Poor

PWbR 208 330 309 220

CS PWbR 186 291 339 219

1 CAPA preparation process involves vulnerability assessment, identify adaptation priorities and prepare a Adaptation plan at community level.

Well off

Medium

Poor

Very Poor

Well being Ranking with CC Indicator

Well off

Medium

Poor

Very Poor

Well being Ranking with CC Indicators

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3.2 Assessing the Roles of Forestry Institutions in Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Local Development Planning

In order to assess the roles of forestry institutions in integrating Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) into local development planning, a number of activities were carried out; assessing the roles of existing institutions, LAPA preparation and the integration of this into local development planning.

3.2.1 Assessing Roles of Existing InstitutionsAt community level: CFUGs are locally accepted, viable and resource based institutions which can implement CCA related activities with limited external financial support, even with their internal resources. In addition, CFUGs have potential for carbon trading and involvement in REDD activities. The funds generated through these processes can be used in CCA. Mobilizing CFUGs as a grass roots level mechanism can bring the synergy of mitigation and adaptation at community level. CFUGs are capable of further involvement through various channels. The Community Forestry Guidelines (2065) have an inclusive provision for representation, equitablebenefitsharing,accountabilityandparticipation of the poor and vulnerable in the decision making process.

In the Terai, Public and Institutional Land Management Groups (PILMG) are considered as the implementing agencies at the local level. The planning process is also relatively difficult in high altitudes (for example Ransi) as only a few community based forestry institutions exist.

At VDC level: VFCC is a multi stakeholder and resource based institution formulated under the LSGA, 2055 that was approved from the VDC council. The following roles

of the VFCC were identified to facilitate climate change adaptation: scale up the prepared CAPAs or initiate CAPA planning, synthesise and prioritise CAPAs into a single LAPA, integrate LAPA into VDC / DDC / DFO planning cycle (or have it endorsed), identify service providers to implement the prioritized activities, scale up the plans and draw down the financial resources (from GOs, NGOs, private sectors, etc) to implement the LAPA, manage and disburse financial resources so that they are accessible to the poor and vulnerable, influence district level policy on adaptation, and monitor and evaluate to ensure continued adaptive management. VFCCs can establish vertical and horizontal linkages with all stakeholders. VFCCs deliver the activities to the identified poor and vulnerable; either through the CFUGs from the established adaptation fund, or directly to the vulnerable households that are not affiliated to any groups. The VFCC was identified as the most viable institution to prepare and implement LAPAs at village level.

In such cases where VFCCs are not functional, VDCs or boundary partners (NGOs working at grass root level) are the potential organizations that can carry out the function of VFCC. A multi stakeholder forum that is represented by the VDC, local government offices, local NGOs, boundary partners and local politicians should be established to carry out CCA activities in such areas.

At District level: DFCC is a multi stakeholder forum formulated under the LSGA, 2055. An Activity Management Committee (AMC) is formed as a core body under the DFCC to coordinate and make immediate decisions. The DFCC facilitates coordinated planning, synthesizes the forestry sector plan and helps to incorporate plans into the annual programmes of all concerned stakeholders/Government line agencies/NGOs, which subsequentlyhelptoendorsetheplansduring DDC planning. The DFCC can compile all the VDC level LAPAs and synthesize them to develop a district level LAPA (for example:

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in Nawalparasi). The DFCC can allocate programmes and funds to address climate change vulnerable households and groups, mostly through VFCC and CBOs working in the forestry sector. Where the DFCC is not present or not functioning, the DDC is the ideal institution to play a coordinating role in its place.

VFCC and DFCC can go beyond the forestry sectors and implement cross sectoral activities. DFCC and VFCC have profound roles in mainstreaming climate change in the annual plans of VDC and DDC. Poor and vulnerable communities have better access to these institutions so they can more easily participate in the decision making process. FUG, VFCC and DFCC are flexible to address CC uncertainty.

A list of stakeholders, along with CFUG, VFCC and DFCC and their roles in LAPA preparation and implementation is given table 6.

3.2.2 LAPA PreparationThe team followed a number of steps to prepare a LAPA, including sensitisation and mobilization, making a plan and monitoring and evaluation.

Sensitization and mobilizationThe sensitization and mobilization of communities is essential in responding to climate change impacts. The team also found it essential for communities to be part of an institution in order to plan for climate change adaptation. In areas where communities don’t

Table 6: Roles of Institutions

Institutions Level Roles

CFUG, PILMG, Tole committee, CBOs

Community • Community level adaptation plan preparation and implementation

• Endorsed Annual general meeting and integrate into annual plan

• Delivering service for buffering poor and vulnerable for climate change adaptation.

• Generate fund and resources, M and E

• Capacity Building

VDC, VFCC, sub unit of government line agencies, Cooperatives, Village level NGOs

Village • Synthesis community level adaptation plan

• Endorsement LAPA through VDC council

• Integrate plan into VDC plan and Illaka Level planning to integrate DDC plan Development and implementation of LAPA-VFCC,

• Sectoral Linkage at local government, stakeholder

• Resource Pulling and leverage, M and E of programme, Facilitate LAPA preparation, SHs Capacity Building, Ensuring Fund, M and E

DDC, DFCC, DFO, FECOFUN, LFP, District level NGOs

District • Develop district level Adaptation Plan and integrate to DDC sectoral plan, endorse district level adaptation plan through DDC council.

• Fund disbursement and delivery, Resource Pulling and Generate Leverage

• Coordination

• Feedback M and E to ensure effectiveness

Figure 1: LAPA preparation process

Vfcc, gon and ngos service providers

advisory support to implement the plans

Development of adaptation plan & setting up adaption fund

at FUG / group level

implementation Vulnerable HHs, FUGs and

other community groups access fund from CFUG/VFCCs’ Adaptation fund

with submitting a plan - based on certain criteria

monitoring by HH, FUG, VFCC and other service providers

Setting up “adaptation fund” at VFCC with

contribution from FUGs, other groups, VDCs,

donors etc

integration of adaptation plan into

the local development planning cycle

Vulnerabilityassessment /mapping

at FUG level

awareness / sensitization

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have access to institutions it is essential to mobilize communities to establish new ones. For example, in Rangsi, where there is no institutional mechanism, the team supported the community to formulate a multi-stakeholder forum which included the participation of a local body (VDC), representatives of line agencies (DFO, DADO), a local community based organization (CFUGs) and political party representatives as advisers. Sensitising stakeholders on climate change issues is essential to ensure climate change is included in the decision-making process. Sensitisation activities included district level, village level and community level workshops and training on climate change and adaptation.

Plan PreparationA number of steps were followed to prepare the LAPAs, including a vulnerability assessment, identifying adaptation options and prioritising these options. See table 7 for an example in Dhungegadi.

Various tools were used during the plan preparation (refer to table 2) and two approaches were piloted during the plan preparation. In areas where community institutions are weak, a top down approach (direct LAPA preparation) was adopted. Under this approach, LAPA was prepared directly at VDC level. For example, VDC level institutions identified climate vulnerable areas and adaptation options in Ransi and Sukrouli VDCs were presented.

In areas where strong local institutions exist, a bottom up approach was adopted for LAPA preparation. Adaptation plans were prepared by community level institutions (CFUGs). This plan is shared with the citizen forum2 and forwarded to VFCC. The individual CAPAs are synthesised by the VFCCs to form a VDC level LAPA. The VFCC shares the plan with VDC and Ilaka, after approval from VDC council this is then submitted to the DFCC. Synthesisation is based on clustering of common adaptation options and prioritisation based on pair wise ranking and cost benefit analysis.

The CAPA-LAPA modality can help to avoid the duplication of activities and all the past activities are comprehensively incorporated. Communities experienced ownership of the plans in the CAPA-LAPA approach, since they were the ones who prepared the CAPA. Conflicts during the implementation of activities did not occur because the plans were prepared with the participation of communities. This modality can be applied in places where community based organizationsarestrong,butitrequiresaprolonged timeframe and higher cost for the CAPA to LAPA process.

ThedirectLAPApreparationrequireslesstime and carries a lower economic cost. This modality can be adopted in areas where active CBOs do not exists and can be prepared with fewer participants. Therefore all the past incidents and needs

Table 7: Illustrated example of LAPA Dhungegadi

Hazards Impacts Coping Adaptation Priorities

Drought Slow growth rate of plants

Drying off of water sources,

Forest fire,

Low productivity

Affects the school attendance of girls

Construction of fire line

Introducing the high yield variety crops

Seasonal migration to India for labour

Promotion of drought resistant crops

Plantation around water sources

Construction of plastic ponds

Conservation of water ponds

First

Second

Third

Third

2 A citizen forum is a recent concept of VDC.

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based activities are harder to incorporate. Similarly, it can create disputes during the implementation because it has been observed that some activities are forcefully included in the plans.

3.2.3 Integration of LAPA into Local Development Planning:The integration of CC priorities can be ensured in a number of ways and the effective integration in the pilot can be included as: LAPA plans integrated in VDC plans, endorsed by VDC, and budget allocated by VDC.

At the community level, CFUGs of Dhungegadi shared the activities of adaptation plans with the Citizen Forum. This approach helped to keep the activities top priority and the forum also acted as a facilitator when incorporating the plan into VDC planning cycle.

The LAPA is either incorporated into the VDC annual plan or the VDC endorses the plan. For example Dhungegadi and Ransi VDCs endorsed the LAPA through the VDC council and allocated the funds by integrating the plan and also committed to scale up the

plan to the DDC through the Illaka Level planning workshop.

VFCC Ransi presented their plan during the District Climate Change Coordination Committee (DCCCC) meeting to incorporate the plan into the district level development agency’s plan. DFO-Rukum, division engineers of the community water supply office and the LDO committed to make the LAPA top priority to integrate the plan in their upcoming planning process.

In addition, CA members of Rukum mentioned that if local priorities are linked with the CA members Fund, then the priorities will be incorporated into the national level plans and policies.

DDC Pyuthan made a decision in pre-planning workshop (planning processes from the start) to keep CC as a crosscutting issue- whereby each sector incorporates in their plan as planning guidelines.

Scaling UpScaling up can be understood in two ways; one is the conventional geographical extension of the programmes or activities,

Figure 2: Mechanism to scale-up the LAPA plan

District District Level Adaptation Plan

n Synthesis community level adaptation plann Endorsement LAPA through VDC counciln Integrate plan into VDC plan and Illaka

Level planning to integrate DDC plan

n Community level adaptation plan preparation

n Endorsed Annual general meeting and integrate into annual plan

VDC Level Adaptation Plan

FUG Level Adaptation Plan

National Forestry StrategyNational Level Work Plan Policy

Village

Community

Level DevelopmentPlanning process

Institution/Mechanism for planning

forestry Sector Mechanisms’

Roles and function Mechanisms

National MoFSC / DoF

RDFForestry Sector Coordination Committee

DDC

Illaka Planning Workshop

DFCC / AMC /Forestry committee

VDC

CitizenForum

n Develop district Level Adaptation Plann Integrate into DDC and sectoral plann Endorsed District Level Adaptation

Plan through DDC council

VFCC

CFUG Interest GroupPoor and Vulnerable

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the other is increasing the resilience of a particular household or community by providing support until they have substantial income for their own livelihood support. The geographical expansion of LAPA is planned to be carried out by the Ministry of Environment following the implementation of the NAPA.

Efforts should be made to increase the resilience of vulnerable households by providing continuous support. This is possible with the coordinated planning of CBOs, VDC, DDC, NGOs and other civil, public and private institutions. So far, this component has been neglected, even from the policy level perspective.

3.3 Assessing the Appropriate Financial and Service Delivery Mechanism to Reach the Most Vulnerable.

Financial plans are prepared by the communities and the financial resources are drawn down from the district level. As

resourceful institutions, CFUGs can invest their own resources in adaptation plans. However, most of the financial resources are drawn from the district level to carry out climate change adaptation activities. Currently, there are different channels that are being used to channel the funds (diagram 2). The funds from the central level should be channelled through an established basket fund from the DFCC to VFCC for effective implementation of the LAPA. Alternatively, the funding can be channelled directly to the VFCC from the central level. In places where DFCC or VFCC do not exist, the central level funds should be channelled through the DDC/VDC or through the NGOs.

District Climate Change Coordination Committee (DCCCC)-RukumA District Climate Change Coordination Committee was established with the decision of the District Development Council (2065/66) in Rukum district under the Local self Governance Act 2056, rule 276, sub rule (1). The key objective of DCCCC is to ensure coordinated planning responds to the anticipated climate change hazards to the district, focusing on the poor and vulnerable. Specifically, the DCCCC is meant to provide immediate support for climate change vulnerable communities, establish a District Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DCCMAF) and ensure its sustainable execution, carry out and support awareness raising programmes on climate change at community, village and district level, to conduct small research on climate change effects, and to explore the opportunities, and wider dissemination of findings

The committee constitutes 15 members from concerned government line agencies (LDO, DFO, DLSO, DADO, DSCO, Water Supply Division Office, Irrigation Office) NGO representatives, Private Sector (DCCI), Journalist federation and two members from development programmes (currently LFP and UMN representatives are nominated as experts). The Energy and Environment Officer of DDC will be the member secretary of DCCCC.

The committees have established the DCCMAF fund, as per the objective with the support of LFP and DDC. The procedural guidelines of DCCCC and DCCMAF have approval from the District Development Committee. The DCCCC has already started sensitizing the residents by broadcasting regular climate change awareness programmes through local FM stations. The committee is coordinating with government line agencies and NGOs to identify the immediate priority actions to support communities in climate vulnerable regions.

Ransi communities rank the GTZ- Rehabilitation and Reintegration Programme top among the development programmes because GTZhaseasyprocesses,makesquickdecisions, goes into the actions and delivers programmes according to local needs.

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It is easier to monitor fund flow mechanisms that have shorter channels. The vulnerability and socio-economic contexts are different in the three ecological regions (Terai, Mid Hills and High Hills) therefore the finance delivery mechanism should be flexible according to the context and nature of each programme. Nepal is facing constant political changes and each change has a profound impact on the finance delivery mechanism. As there is an absence of elected and publicly accountable representatives in the VDC and DDC, there is a high level of influence from politicians and other elite groups, so funds might be channelled to other non beneficial sectors, regardless of priorities. In the case of conflict, funds should flow through a multi stakeholder forum at district and

village level. the multi stakeholder concept was coined during the VFCC Dhungegadi meeting, the forum should consist of representatives from government offices, line agencies, politicians, and community members (for example Dhungegadi VFCC).

The NAPA set out provisions to spend at least 80% of the total resources at the community level (GoN/MoE 2010). To achieve the above goal, the funding mechanism should be efficient, simple, avoid any lengthy processes and more importantly, should be accessible to the poor and vulnerable. The diagram given below (Diagram 3) provides the fund flow mechanism from the centre to the community level. For the effective implementation of the LAPA and to ensure the funds reach the poor and vulnerable, the fund flow should follow the bold lines in the diagram. The most efficient and effective means of fund flow (as given by bold lines) are proposed by the Dhungegadi VFCC members, DDC Pyuthan and concerned stakeholders.

Lfp used a different finance delivery model

Dhungegadi VFCC chairman and members stressed that the fund should flow via short channels. The existing mechanism forfundflowrequireshighadministrativeandtransactioncosts, which can be minimized by short fund flow channels.

Figure 3:fund flow mechanism as identified during scoping

District District Forest Sector Plan(DFSP)/ District Five Year Operation Plan(DFOP) DFCC Fund/ District Forest Development Fund(DFDF)

VDC level forestry/ adaptation plan Annual PlanVFCC fund CFUG Categorization

District Level Coordination and cross sectoral linkage Resource Pulling and Generate Leverage Strategies Decision -making Policy FeedbackM and E to ensure effectiveness?

Development and implementationof LAPA-VFCC Sectoral Linkage at local government, stakeholder Resource Pulling and leverageM and E of Programme FacilitateLAPA preparation SHs CapacityBuilding Ensuring Fund M and E

Implementation LAPA GenerateResourcesM and E Facilitate LAPApreparation Capacity Building

CFUG - OP and Constitution Annual Plan FUG fund Pro poorstrategy PWBR Public Auditing

National Forestry StrategyNational Level Work Plan Policy

Village

Community

Level funding Institution/Mechanism (includingplanning and fund flow)

forestry Sector Mechanisms

Roles and function Mechanisms

National MoFSC/DoF

RDF

FECOFUN/NGOs

Forestry sector coordination

CFUG CBOs/NGOs,Interest Group Poor and Vulnerable

Illaka,Range Post

VFCC

Govt.Agencies,Donors,ServiceProviders

NGOs

DFO, NGO, FECOFUN

DFCC/AMC Forestry committee

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according to the local context. the model carries a lower transaction cost that was proven by Lfp analysis; moreover it was institutionalised and recognised by local people and groups. the model can be replicated to deliver the adaptation programme. the financial plan was prepared at grass roots level, with the facilitation of local partners. rn adopted the finance delivery model of Lfp during the piloting and found it was appropriate.

Public hearing and auditing must be conducted to ensure the effective utilization of resources, increase accountability and maintain the transparency of the programme and projects. The public auditing process practiced in the CFUGs of Dhungegadi VDC was found to be very effective.

The service delivery mechanism is almost same as that of the financial delivery mechanism; the DFCC delivers services to communities and poor and vulnerable households through VFCC and CFUGs. The mechanism also acts as a pool

to transfer information from local to district level and vice versa, and occasionally up to the national level. The proposed mechanism ensures coordinated planning at the district and village level, as well as synergy development in a cross-sectoral programme.

3.4 Identifying Specific Interventions to Build the Adaptive Capacity of the most vulnerable Communities in Midwest Region.

Impacts of Climate Change adaptation interventions were studied and analysed critically in the piloting sites. The lists of interventions given in table 8 were drawn from practices in the field (practiced by LFP), from relevant literature (NAPA 2010), and as per the priority interventions listed by communities in their CAPA and LAPA.

The interventions listed should be cost effective, needs based, flexible, ensure anequitableshareofthebenefittothepoor and vulnerable, and moreover

Table 8: Lists of interventions

Enhancing Ecosystem Resilience

Enhancing Community Resilience

Knowledge Management and Climate Foresight

Social Protection and Safety Nets

Integrated Forest and Watershed Management (Terai and Mid hills)

Promotion of NTFPs/MAPs/Cash crops in barren area (All)

Awareness raising and Capacity Building to climate change (All)

Emergency Fund (All)

Forest Fire Line Construction (Terai and Mid hills)

Income Generating Activities Support (All)

Develop different tools and manuals regarding CC adaptation (All)

Installation of Improved Cooking Stoves and Biogas Plant (Terai and Mid hills)

Small Scale Enterprise Development (All)

Strengthening local institutions (All)

Public and Institutional Land Management Programme (Terai)

Revolving Fund Establishment and mobilization (All)

Establishment of community Weather Monitoring and information dissemination Centre (All)

Conservation and Plantation of Riverine forest along Riverside (Terai)

Small Scale Infrastructure support (All)

Establishment of Early warning system (All)

High Altitude Range Land Conservation (Mountains)

Forest Land Allocation to Poor and vulnerable (Terai and Mid hills)

Information and Resource Centre Development and Strengthening (All)

Assurance of Market and development of market outlets (Mid hills and high hills)

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address the adaptation strategies. Livelihood opportunities for the poor and vulnerable should be diversified by providing alternative income generation activities. Allocating a small area within the community forest (or similar areas) to cultivate NTFPs or cash crops will help to increase their income. Income generating activities such as bee keeping, livestock and poultry farming, providing them with training on forest based micro enterprises and transferring them to skilful entrepreneurs will help to increase the adaptive capacity rather than providing them with financial support.

Broadly four different categories of climate friendly technical interventions are identified; details of these interventions are given in annex 1.

3.4.1 Monitoring and EvaluationA number of tools and approaches were identified during the M&E phase that included: hazard mapping, seasonal calendars, vulnerability matrix, PWBR and self monitoring and evaluation (SME). Among the tools, PWBR, SME and Public Auditing were comprehensively institutionalized in the CFUGs from the CCA perspective. The CF monitoring

format was taken as a baseline because it was widely used by different stakeholders and governed by policies. It was realized that the format itself was exploratory and useful to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of CFUGs in service delivery and resource management. However, more attention is needed to make the format climate friendly with due consideration to be paid to the importance of the existing process and the capacity of the user group in this regard. The logical framework analysis tool was also used and tested in the field but it is realized that the process should be iterative and only needs to be facilitated in the initial phases (annex 2). These tools are all effective and used in measuring the effectiveness of the process and programme. The process and tools should be flexible enough and context specific, based on local knowledge and practice.

In Pyuthan the CFUG was encouraged to consider how to assess change. They outlined a 5 year plan for floods and were asked how this would be assessed at years 1, 3 & 5 if the investment were delivering adaptation/ reducing their vulnerability to CC impacts. They came up with the following plan:

Figure 4:A five year adaptation plan as presented by CfUGs during consultation meeting at Dhungegadi VDC

Year 1 Outcomes

RISH REDUCTION

(flood wall constructed, Indicator-Less

harm to assets

Year 3

VULNERAbILITY REDUCTION

(IGA setup - Indicator - better

purchasing power-ability to buy medicine to address health impact of flood

Year 5

RESILIENCE

HH will not suffer from adverse

health impact even if there is a flood

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3.5 Identifying and Addressing Barriers and Gaps

• Peopleandcommunitiesthatarenotincluded in any institutions/groups are found to be the most vulnerable (for example: people living in southern Terai and in high altitude areas). Efforts should be paid to incorporate them into existing institutions and to ensure their representation in the CAPA preparation process.

• SomekeychallengesintheLAPApreparation include: simplifying the LAPA preparation process, engagement of supporting agencies for resource leverage, and the consent of DFO staff (DFO staff rarely allow the ownership of forests by other institutions).

• Theeffectivenessoftheadaptationinterventions is hard to assess in a short timeframe. Further, climate change is a cross cutting issue and it is hard to determine whether the change is a result of one intervention or the cumulative impact of two or more activities. Similarly, climate change impacts brought cross sector effects, whichrequiresaninterdisciplinaryprogramme and support from service providers.

• Thereisaknowledgegapwithinstakeholders and communities regarding climate change issues and developing a relevant strategy. Most climate change induced disasters are perceived as natural calamities. The mitigation and adaptation measures are receiving the least preference during the planning process due to the knowledge gap.

• TheprogrammesdevelopedbyNGOs and other stakeholders are not discussed with communities. Ideally NGOs should support the activities identified by the communities either in the CAPA or LAPA or in their operational

plan, but they are often administered without any form of consultation.

• SometimesitisunderstoodthatVFCC and DFCC are parallel to VDC and DDC and therefore district level decision makers are reluctant towards the institutionalization of VFCC and DFCC. The roles and functions of the development committee and forest coordinationcommitteearequitedifferent. The forest coordination committees are formed under their respective development committee and facilitate the integration of services to the village level service providers and deliver to the forest user groups.

• Mostofthevulnerablecommunitiesandhouseholds are not organized in any local institution, which causes difficulty in reaching them. A local level initiative by VDC and CBOs is needed to incorporate them into existing organizations.

3.6 Learning

Key learning during the scoping and piloting study is given below.• Sensitizationtostakeholdersandthe

involvement from the initial phase helps in creating an enabling environment to carry out climate change related activities, building local ownership and receiving support in delivering the programme. Sensitization helps to incorporate climate change adaptation activities into the decision making process (of VDC, DDC, NGOs etc) and furthermore helps to foresee future impacts of climate change and be better prepared.

• Itishardtoreachgroupsandhouseholds who are not organized under any of the institutions. They are often the poorest of the poor so should be included in forestry institutions and their basic needs incorporated into the LAPA with high priority.

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• ToolsdevelopedbyLFPtopreparethe LAPA are comprehensive, but the skill of the facilitator determines the effectiveness. Facilitators must be acquaintedwiththetrainingtoprepareagood LAPA.

• TheCAPApreparedatcommunityleveland later synthesized into VDC level LAPA is more effective compared to preparing a LAPA directly at the village level. Communities prepare plans on their own in the CAPA to LAPA modality, showing an enhanced feeling of ownership amongst themselves. In both processes, reaching the poor and vulnerable and addressing climate change adaptation interventions should be ensured.

• TheLAPAshouldcommissionresourcefuland viable institutions which have a wide geological coverage as well as vertical and horizontal linkages. Institutions with such profiles can influence local decision makers for the effective implementation of the LAPA.

• Beingacrosssectortheme,theLAPAshould adopt a multi stakeholder approach. VFCC at village level and DFCC at district level have been identified for the multi stakeholder forum; they are the most viable to prepare and implement LAPAs for the forestry sector, as well as other sectors too. In places where VFCC does not exist or is not functional, a multi stakeholder forum should be formulated under the VDC to carry out the LAPA. Service providers should facilitate in the LAPA preparation.

• Groupswhichhaveagoodplanisafirst step to scaling up. An institutional mechanism is also important in scaling up the LAPA. However groups should also be locally acceptable, have influential capacity to integrate the plan into the local planning process and ensure financial support and technical services. CFUGs and VFCC can provide this institutional mechanism to scale up the LAPA.

• Establishmentofabasketfundandemergency fund at village and district level is a good initiative. The fund disbursement is flexible enough to provide immediate financial support to poor and vulnerable people and enable communities to better access them.

• VFCCshavelimitedhumanresourcesandrequiretheskilltoprepareandimplement the LAPA, as well as to disburse the fund. VFCC members should be provided with relevant training (financial and accounting, human resources, front desk, administration) to perform the assigned task.

• Differentiatingbetweennormaldevelopment practices and adaptation activities to the changing climate is very important, but it is challenging.

• Thefinancialdeliverymechanismshould be flexible enough to address the immediate and prioritised needs of poor and vulnerable communities so that different mechanisms should be practiced while implementing the LAPA according to the local context and political situation of the country.

• Leveragingfinancialandtechnicalresources from various government line agencies and local government has been considered one of the main principles for the sustainability of the programme.

• Thesustainabilityoftheprogrammeexists only if the local, district and national level institutions are mobilised and plans are mainstreamed. Incorporating an adaptation plan in the CF constitution and operational Plan, VDC plan and DDC plan and the concept of mobilising key stakeholders such as DFO, DDC, and VDC can bring sustainability to the programme.

• Smallscaleadaptationprojectsthatthe community can manage by themselves using local resources and local knowledge are found to be more

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effective. These adaptation projects need to be promoted and strengthened in future LAPAs.

• Theincomesourceofclimatevulnerablehouseholds and groups should be diversified to increase their adaptive capacity. The allocation of land for farming NTFPs/MAPs/Cash Crops, bee keeping, goat exchange programmes, fisheries, livestock etc are livelihood diversification options that that can be adopted with very little financial support.

• TheexistingPWBRtoolwasupdatedwith climate sensitive criteria and indicators to identify the poor and vulnerable in climate vulnerable regions. It demonstrates that it is effective when the existing tools are updated with

climate sensitive indicators rather than administering the current one.

• CostBenefitAnalysis(CBA)isaneffectivetool to prioritize activities, plan them according to the budget and provide options based on the available resources.

• Acentrallevelpolicyordirectiveisrequiredto commission the LAPA at district level. MoE should prepare this policy and other government line agencies should agree to providing support.

• Aclearpolicyatthelocallevelisrequiredthat will allocate a certain percentage of funds to address climate change adaptation for communities. It has been observed that despite the allocation, the influence of some groups can divert the fund to non prioritized areas.

4.1 Conclusion

Rupantaran Nepal, in collaboration with Livelihoods and Forestry Programme, initiated the scoping study and pilot for Local Adaptation Plans of Action in the Midwest region. The funding for this was provided by the DFID CADP-N. Three VDCs, each from distinct ecological zones were selected for piloting, with the forestry sector as an entry point. The CAPA was prepared at CFUG level and later synthesized to VDC level LAPA in Dhungegadi VDC, whereas the LAPA at VDC level was prepared directly at VDC level in Sukrouli and Ransi. This emphasised that LAPA preparation is not a mechanical process, but should be site and context specific. Rupantaran Nepal piloted the CAPA and LAPA preparation at Dhungegadi VDC and the conclusions drawn below are based on the experiences gained during the LAPA preparation at Dhungegadi VDC, with forests and biodiversity as a thematic area.

Key processes and steps carried out during the preparation of VDC level LAPA (at Dhungegadi VDC) are outlined as follows:a) Sensitization: Rural communities, village and district level stakeholders were sensitized

on the issues of climate change, its anticipated impacts and adaptation measures. Sensitization was helpful during CAPA and LAPA preparation because participants of all levels showed interest during plan preparation.

b) Vulnerability Assessment: Climate sensitive criteria and indicators were incorporated into the existing Participatory Well Being Ranking (PWBR) to identify the households that are vulnerable to climate change.

c) CAPA preparation: The tools and processes prepared by LFP were adopted during the CAPA preparation. Two to three day group meetings were organized in each CFUG to prepare the CAPA. Out of the 13 different tools given, the adopted tools included timeline, seasonal calendar, hazard maps, identification of households and communities in climate vulnerable areas, sectoral and asset impact analysis, identification and prioritization of adaptive measures, institutional mapping, action plans and monitoring and evaluation to measure the adaptive capacity. These tools were applied either unchanged or with slight modifications to ensure they were climate sensitive.

d) LAPA preparation: The LAPA was prepared by synthesizing the prepared CAPA. A consultation meeting was held with representatives of VFCC and CFUGs, LFP Pyuthan staff and RN staff as participants. Compilation was done in the same forum to ensure their ownership on the prepared LAPA. A Cost Benefit Analysis was tested during the LAPA preparation to assess the effectiveness among the prioritized programmes. VFCC Pyuthan

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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submitted the LAPA to the VDC council and it was approved after a multi-stakeholder consultation.

Addressing the prioritized activities and the sustainability of plans: Climate change adaptation activities enlisted in the LAPA should be integrated in the VDC and DDC plans. These prioritized activities should be incorporated into the plans of other stakeholders and supporting organizations. A basket fund established at village (VFCC) and district level (DFCC) will provide immediate financial support in emergency cases. As CFUGs are a resource-based organisation, they can mobilize its internal resource to carry out adaptation activities. The proactive participation of CFUGs is necessary to develop and implement the plans effectively. Regular review and reflection meetings should be organized to assess the development of implemented activities. Local technologies should be promoted to address climate change adaptation issues where applicable. Utilization of existing institutions will be effective in delivering adaptation activities. This will reduce the cost and time and create ease in reaching the poor and vulnerable. These activities will ensure the sustainability of the LAPA implementation.

Identifying Key Actors and their Roles: Key actors were identified during the CAPA and LAPA preparation. Their roles were identified during the consultation with concerned actors. Three tiers were identified: community level, VDC level and district level. Key actors and their roles are identified as follows:a) CFUG (community level): CFUG are

community level organisations which prepare and implement the plans, ensure the programme reaches the poor and vulnerable, and carried out monitoring and evaluation activities. CFUGs can consult with vulnerable communities to

ensure their needs in the adaption plan.b) Cooperatives, Agro vets (VDC level):

These are addressed by private institutions that deliver the financial services, provide technical support and buy back guarantee for products.

c) VFCC (VDC level): VFCC are involved in sensitization, local level policy formulation, scaling up the LAPA and integrating them into the annual plans of VDC, disseminating findings with the district level policy makers, DDC and district level NGOs, drawing down the technical and financial resources, synthesizing the CAPA to prepare VDC level LAPA, fund disbursement to the poor and vulnerable via CFUGs, and monitoring and evaluation. It will be difficult for VFCC members to manage the LAPA activities with their current capability so they should be capacitated with administration and accountant training to carry out the functions and roles.

d) Local NGOs (VDC level): They capacitate VFCC and CFUGs to prepare plans and create an enabling environment, horizontal linkage with service providers, and ensuring the proper utilization of fund and reach to the poor and vulnerable.

e) Range Posts, DADO, DLSO, HP (VDC level): These government organizations can support the integration of the identified activities in the annual programme of the district, provide technical support, and carry out M&E activities.

f ) DFCC (district level): The role of the DFCC is crucial in coordinating planning and mainstreaming, incorporating climate change related activities and interventions during planning, policies and strategy development, capacity building, M&E (Joint monitoring) and policy feedback.

g) Service Providers (district level): NGOs are the identified service providers that can

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assist in preparing plans and allocating activities to communities via local level NGOs. They are also responsible for monitoring and evaluation of ongoing activities. LFP also acts as a district level service provider who will disburse funds and ensure the proper utilization of resources by regular monitoring. LFP is a pioneer in developing CAPAs and LAPAs in the district and is involved in capacity building and facilitation, implementation of plans and activities and moreover diffusion of learning to replicate and scale up to the national level.

h) DFO (district level): District Forest Office governs the DFCC and VFCC. DFO endorses the plan, helps to integrate and incorporate the climate change related activities into the district level stakeholder’s annual plan, ensures the implementation of plans and policies and carries out M&E through Ilaka and range posts.

Policy and Institutional Reform: as the napa has already been approved by the government of nepal, the prepared Lapa has to fit according to the napa’s structure. therefore the usefulness of the prepared Lapa can be influenced by the government’s policies.

4.2 Recommendations

A set of interventions are listed in ‘Climate Friendly Technical Interventions’, which are the recommended interventions. Along with these, the following recommendations are drawn from the pilot.1. Sensitization on impacts of climate

change should be organized for community to district level stakeholders and decision makers, in order to develop their capacity to work with the existing and future climate change effects. Sensitization to VFCC, VFCC, VDC and DDC members enables them

to incorporate climate change related activities into planning cycles and use climate foresight in decision making processes for the long run.

2. Identifying poor and vulnerable households and communities in climate vulnerable areas is the most important step in designing a LAPA, which can be identified using Climate Sensitive PWBR tools. The updated tool has been prepared by Rupantaran Nepal and can be used with slight modifications according to space and time. The Climate Sensitive PWBR tool assesses vulnerability based on five assets and assesses the services that are available at VDC, local and district level.

3. The participation of identified poor and vulnerable households and communities during CAPA preparation should be ensured. Activities identified by them to increase their adaptive capacity should be well documented and prioritized during CAPA preparation. Their access to available services should be ensured to cope with the expected climatic hazards. The policies (of CF, VFCC, VDC) should address the need of the poor and vulnerable to increase their resilience.

4. Poor and vulnerable households have limited income generating opportunities. Their livelihood opportunities should be diversified by engaging them in income generating activities. This can be achieved by establishing forest based micro enterprises, allocating some areas of CF or LF for the cultivation of NTFPs, MAPs and high value crops and linking the products to the market. The activities that needs to be addressed immediately can be identified through cost benefit analysis and multi criteria matrix.

5. VFCC is the potential VDC level institution to prepare and implement the LAPA. Members of VFCC should be capacitated to prepare and implement this. Once they are capacitated, they can use the available funds (either self generated or through a basket fund) to prepare the

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CAPA at community level. Communities should feel the necessity of plans that can help them cope with and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Once the community members and VDC secretaries are sensitized, CF or VDC can use their internal resource for CAPA or LAPA preparation. Some VDCs of Pyuthan district (Udaypurkot and Bangesal VDCs) have already allocated Rs 50,000 each to prepare a village level LAPA, a good indication of upscaling.

6. VFCCs are responsible for scaling out the plan and drawing down the technical and financial resources. As the NAPA has already been approved, the VFCC in most of the districts can take responsibility for preparing the LAPA. The current capability of VFCC members restricts them in handling big amounts (above 1millionrupees)andmakesitequallyhard for them to implement activities. Therefore they should be trained in accounting, administration, record-keeping and coordination. The provision of recruiting staff and hiring consulting services for VFCC should be included in the plans. VFCC should be capacitated to advocate at the district level to amend certain clauses in the policies that restrict them from implementing the LAPA.

7. Representatives of stakeholders from different organisations play a key role in scaling up and drawing down resources. Public, civil and private organizations’ representation in service delivery mechanisms makes the scaling up and drawing down process simple. To keep to the multidisciplinary nature of climate change adaptation, coordination among the government and other organizations should be mandatory.

8. DFOs, DFCC and DDC members should know about the issues of climate change. Similarly, district level stakeholders should include climate foresight in their annual planning cycles and coordinate with DDC, DFCC and DFO to mainstream

the activities. Once a LAPA has been prepared and sent up to the DFCC or DDC for approval, these institutions can replicate the process of LAPA preparation in other sites. Similarly, district level decision making institutions can ensure the continuous support for VFCCs that have already prepared LAPA to upscale their activities.

9. Preparation of monitoring and evaluation (a logical framework) based on the intervention and thematic area could set baseline information about the poor and vulnerable. Similarly adaptive capacity and existing vulnerability could be analyzed by comparing now and then, using participatory tools like a vulnerability matrix and graph of vulnerability versus resilience for particular types of hazard. Communities should prepare a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess their increase in adaptive capacity.

10. The assessment tools mostly explore human vulnerability and pay little attention to flora and fauna. A new tool that assesses the vulnerability of natural resources is recommended. The new tool should assess the loss of biodiversity (flora and fauna) and the geographical shrinkage of habitat due to increased temperature, over exploitation, etc.

11. The communities and households that are not organized in any forestry management system should be included in forestry institutions. This part is not explicitly mentioned during the LAPA preparation. One option could be the formulation of a multi stakeholder forum (VDC, local NGOs, private institutions) that can address the needs of excluded households and communities.

12. Government should subsidise community based enterprises for their sustainability by giving tax holidays during the initial period. These micro enterprises are hard to run without government support which can be achieved by developing favourable plans and policies.

DDc pyuthan, 2009. District Forestry Sector Plan of Pyuthan. District Development committee, pyuthan. unpublished report.

Dof, 2010. Country Report Nepal: Status of Forestry in Nepal, A Synopsis Report. government of nepal / ministry of forest and soil conservation / Department of forests.

gon/moe, 2009. National Climate Change Policy; Draft. government of nepal/ministry of environment.

gon/moe, 2010. National Adaptation Plan of Action for Climate Change. government of nepal / ministry of environment.

hmgn/mfsc, 2002. Nepal Biodiversity Strategy. ministry of forest and soil conservation.

Lfp, 2009. Impact of Climate Change on Forestry and Livelihood: Issues and Options for Nepal. Livelihoods and forestry programme, Kathmandu, nepal.

regmi b.r. & subedi r., 2010. Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation through Community Based Planning Concept, Process and Tools. uK aid/Lfp.

regmi b.r., morcrette a., paudyal a., bastakoti r. & pradhan s., 2010. Participatory Tools and Techniques for Assessing Climate Change Impact and Exploring Adaptation Options. DfiD/ Lfp.

REFERENCES

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Enhancing Ecosystem Resilience

1. Integrated Forest and Watershed Management (Terai and Mid hills): plantation of broadleaved tree species near water sources and barren and eroded lands helps in conserving and recharging the water source and prevents soil erosion. apart from plantation, construction of water harvesting ponds and introduction of other water rechargeable mechanisms in forest areas and unused public land (especially in southern terai) would help to diversify the cropping pattern to prepare for climate change consequences. construction of water harvest tanks can reduce run-off and support water recharging, help to control erosion of fertile topsoil, and could be used in lean periods for serving livestock and irrigation purposes.

2. Forest Fire Line Construction (Terai and Mid hills): awareness raising among c/fugs, formation of fire fighting units and construction of fire Lines in the forest will help to reduce the frequency of forest fire. if such incidents happen, it will help to reduce the loss of biodiversity and human life. such efforts help to maintain the social cohesiveness among the c/fug

3. Installation of Improved Cooking Stoves and Biogas Plants (Terai and Mid hills): improved cooking stoves consume less fuel wood, take less time and are healthier, thus conserve biodiversity and maintain a healthy population. similarly, biogas plants minimize the fuel wood consumption and maintain health especially of women. the dung after extraction of biogas can be used as fertilizer, thereby minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers.

4. Public and Institutional Land Management Programme (Terai): forest area is limited but there is an abundance of unused public land in the southern terai. those lands can be utilized for plantation of multipurpose tree species and intercropping of cash and agricultural crops by the poor and vulnerable. consequences of these activities are: restoration of greenery, increased access to resources for marginal and disadvantaged people and enhanced livelihood options. plantation of trees and shrubs using appropriate bio-engineering techniques at the edge of agricultural land near rivers and streams helps to check the erosion and aids in sequestering more carbon.

ANNEx 1: ADAPTATION INTERVENTIONS

An interaction with Kalpana Amatya, Upper Daderi tole Bangesal VDC Pyutnan district, says “I am a housewife and after installation of an improved cooking stove, the time spent cooking and searching for fire wood has been reduced. It also consumes less fire wood. Now I can cook in a smokeless healthier environment”.

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5. Conservation and Plantation of Riverine forest along Riverside (Terai): flooding and drought caused by climate change has destroyed riverine forests (napa forest and biodiversity thematic working group 2010). management of riverine forest helps to reduce the deposition of sedimentation, control flooding and increase access to forest resources.

6. High Altitude Range Land Conservation (Mountains): the habitat and altitudinal range of high altitude flora and fauna has been shrinking due to prolonged drought in autumn and winter (napa tWg fbD 2010). managing these highland habitats in collaboration with indigenous and local people helps to conserve the habitat, and opens new arenas for income generating activities (cultivation and conservation of high valued ntfps, management of grasslands for grazing etc).

Enhancing Communities Resilience 1. Promotion of NTFPs/MAPs/Cash

crops in barren areas (All): fug/piLmg can allocate some areas within the community forest, leasehold forest or public land to poor and vulnerable communities. non timber forest products/ medicinal and aromatic plants/ cash crops can be planted in those areas to generate income. this would help to diversify income sources, provides off-farm income generation opportunities, increase

access to natural resources for poor and vulnerable, foster and proper use of unused land. this intervention can be up scaled in all ecological regions.

2. Income Generating Activities Support (All): poor and vulnerable communities have minimum chances of income generating activities and are more susceptible to climate change impacts. identification of income generating activities on a needs basis will help to alleviate poverty and enhance adaptation to climate change impacts. Providing the poor and vulnerable with training on forest based micro enterprises and transferring them to skilful entrepreneurs will help to increase adaptative capacity rather than providing them with financial support.

3. Small Scale Enterprise Development (All): small scale enterprises will help improve livelihoods and support diversification of livelihood options. this can be promoted both at individual and community level. the enterprises can be either forest based or non forest based. allo weaving, bamboo crafting, small furniture, chiuri (Diploknema butyracea) processing and bee keeping are found to be effective and sustainable in the Lfp midwest areas.

Locals of Nadiya tole of Sukrauli VDC say “after managing the forest, the river rarely enters the village and now we are safe”.

Focussing on the poor and vulnerable, Rupantaran Nepal has supported bee keeping and ginger plantations in Dhungegadi VDC.

Handmade paper was established with the support of LFP in Setecharpate CFUGs of Ransi VDC, providing additional employment for ten poor and vulnerable households.

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4. Revolving Fund Establishment and mobilization (All): in order to provide loans and grants to the poor and vulnerable, fugs established the revolving fund within cfugs as a separate fund. in the piloting sites almost all fugs had established such a fund and were providing loans to vulnerable households, which resulted in better access to credit by the poor and vulnerable. on an annual basis fugs are adding a certain percentage of funds from their annual income into this fund. in 2007/08 a fund of rupees 15 million rupees was established by fugs by contributing both the Lfp support fund and users group fund (Lfp 2009).

5. Small Scale Infrastructure support (All): small scale infrastructure support includes water source protection, drinking water systems, water harvesting tanks, small scale irrigation (lift irrigation, sprinkle irrigation and renovation of irrigation canals and structures). this has helped improve and diversifying the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable by improving their access to drinking water, increasing productivity and diversify crops that secure livelihoods. in addition such types of intervention build greater acceptance within communities.

6. Forest Land Allocation to Poor and vulnerable (Terai and Mid hills): Land allocation is found to be a good intervention to diversify income, access the land as a natural resource and empower the poor and excluded. more than 700 hectares of land have been allocated to 7400 poor and vulnerable households for agro-forestry, fodder grass cultivation and ntfp farming.

7. Assurance of Market and development of market outlets (Mid hills and high hills): the market for manufactured products should be guaranteed by linking the product to

the market. establishing the sales outlet in road head areas or collective market centres (especially for ntfps) with the support of cooperatives will ensure the market in the long run. a market information system should be developed to assure a better price for products for farmers and producers.

Knowledge Management and Climate Foresight 1. Awareness raising and Capacity

Building around to climate change (All): this activity is found to be useful to enhance the level of understanding of climate change among stakeholders. after sensitization and capacity building, c/fug members will be able to develop a cap on their own. such activities would help to enhance coordination among stakeholders make it easier to implement the interventions, and help to prepare the plan and implement the activities accordingly.

2. Develop different tools and manuals regarding CC adaptation (All): Dissemination of cc related planning tools, manuals, posters etc will help to sensitize and develop understanding within communities and build confidence to cope with as well as respond to climate change impacts.

3. Strengthening local institutions (All): institutions and social networks are playing important roles in shaping vulnerability and mediating in recovery after disaster. c/fugs, Vfcc and Dfcc and local clubs, schools and private institutions (cooperative) are found to be effective local institutions into influencing the adaptive capacity of communities and their adaptation choices. in the forestry sector cfugs, Vfcc and Dfcc are very important to prepare the adaptation plan, up scale the plans and share the information across the boundary institutions but need to build their capacity.

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4. Establishment of community Weather Monitoring and information dissemination Centre (All): cfugs use different information systems among the users to dissemination information related to decision and general notices by using different means: Wall newspaper, fm broadcast and KatuWaL (a person told information centre spot by loud voice). this process can be strengthened to disseminate weather information to users if there is an established community weather monitoring system.

5. Establishment of Early warning system (All): to defend against flooding and the effects of heavy rain an early warning system will effectively reduce the exposure of human lives and other assets and property (livestock and equipment) such as sarong bell tower to monitor long distance of floods.

6. Information and Resource Centre Development and Strengthening (All): a community learning centre is found to be an effective information

dissemination tool in any sector ? Jaspur cfug established forestry Learning centre for better access to information and to empower women. these types of learning centre can be established by Vfcc at VDc level to collect and disseminate climate change related information. in addition this resource centre can provide market information to people but need to link with other institutions who provide market information.

7. Social Protection and Safety Net Emergency Fund (All): to respond quickly to climactic hazards, most fugs have policies in their operational plan and constitutions. fugs established an emergency fund and provide quick responses into the emergency in the piloted sites. this fund can be upscaled and strengthened to provide community iinsurance on a small scale. however, a clear guiding procedure is needed. in addition, a similar type of fund established in the VDc level can be established under the Vfcc which gives better access to local communities.

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Strengthening health Facility ManageMent coMMitteeS to Back Up eSSential health adaptation initiativeS oF cliMate change vUlneraBle coMMUnitieS


Submitted byThe Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT)Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal

Strengthening health Facility Management committees to Back Up essential health adaptation initiatives of climate change vulnerable communities

Climate change is happening and bringing with it alterations in climatic risk patterns. The impacts of climate change threaten the food security, health and wellbeing of millions of people, especially those living in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Nepal. The predicted trend of increased climate variability and more extreme weather events is likely to have a range of direct effects on Nepal’s rural communities.

The health sector is climate sensitive, and is under pressure to develop sustainable adaptation strategies to counterbalance future impacts of climate change on human health. It is essential that mechanisms are institutionalised to enable the most vulnerable local communities to cope with climate change impacts. This means that local communities must be supported in preparing themselves for changing situations and taking steps that will improve their ability to protect their livelihoods, health and wellbeing. There is, however, no one-size-fits-all solution. Awareness-raising and capacity-building processes are urgently needed at all levels to support long-term learning processes and take the eco-systems and socio-economic conditions into consideration.

Decentralized programmes seem most appropriate to promote local adaptation, within the framework of coherent national policies. With this in mind, particular attention should be given to the development of location-specific adaptation options that can manage future anticipated risks and take bio-physical, socio-economic and socio-cultural factors into consideration. A systematic and consistent application of practices that strengthen local health governance may serve as a suitable entry point to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change on human health. Knowledge gaps remain as to how sustainably these practices would be, and how best to design and promote adaptation processes. However, immediate action is needed to manage the risks within the framework of broader understanding. Studies of adaptation processes are needed that will add to the dissemination and replication of good practices.

This report presents the findings of a pilot undertaken in Ghodasain VDC of Achham and Danabari VDC of Ilam districts jointly by BNMT and CADP-N. It provides a summary of the approaches and processes used to inform community people about climate change and support the development of their local adaptation strategies. It also presents the lessons learned, as well as good practice options identified and valued by community people for climate induced health risk management in the context of climate change.

Dr. Bhanu B. Niraula and Sadhana ShresthaCountry Directors,The Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT)

FOREWARD

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This report is the result of the team effort of the people involved in the LAPA pilot. First of all I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Bhanu B. Niraula and Sadhana Shrestha, Country Directors of BNMT, for their invaluable input and regular encouragement for this pilot project. I would like to thank to Mr. Bimal Regmi, Advisor of DFID; Mr. Gyanendra Karki, Dr. Deepak Rijal, National Facilitator of CADP-N and Jessica Ayers for their mentoring of this pilot.

My sincere thanks go to DPHO/DHO, DDC, DADO, DLDO, DFO and HFMCs members, health workers, teachers in the LAPA clusters and VDCs and district partners NGOs for their cooperation and tireless effort, without their generous support the given task would not have been possible.

Likewise, I appreciate the generous and invaluable input pilot of Mr. Bhupendra B. Shahi and Mr. Manoj Kumar Khadka for the facilitation of this LAPA at field level.

Finally, I am grateful to all BNMT staff for their kind cooperation from the very initial stage to the report preparation.

Mahendra Bikram ShahNational Project Coordinator (NPC)The Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT)January 15, 2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Foreword 191

Acknowledgements 193

Table of contents 195


Introduction 205 1.1 General objectives 208 1.2 Specific objectives 208

Methodology 209 2.1 Pilot area–Geographic and socioeconomic overview 209 2.1.1 Geography 209 2.1.2 Population 209 2.1.3 Occupation 210 2.1.4 Climate 210 2.2 Approaches and tools 210 2.2.1. Institutional assessment 210 2.2.2. Consultation with district level stakeholders 210 2.2.3 Orientation to HFMC on climate change vulnerability assessment tools 210 2.2.4 Focus group discussion 212 2.2.5 Household Survey 212 2.2.6 Cost benefit analysis 212 2.2.7 Joint planning workshop on climate change adaptive initiatives at VDC level 213 2.2.8 Gateway Analysis 213 2.2.9 Monitoring and Evaluation team formation 213

Outputs / Findings 214 3.1. Climate friendly technical interventions 214 3.1.1. Strengthening the health system at the local level 214 3.1.2. Community mobilization for water resource management 215 3.1.3. Enhancing lthe livlihood options of climate change vulnerable households 216 3.2. Good practices vis. mainstreaming 217 3.3. Socio-economic Service delivery mechanism/gateway systems in the LAPA clusters 217 3.4. Finance delivery mechanism 218 3.5. Effectiveness of tools and approaches 219 3.6. Mechanism to reach the climate vulnerable 219

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Developing and implementing LAPAs 222

Barriers and Gaps to developing and delivering LAPAs 223 5.1 Areas of weakness 223 5.2 Ways forward 223

Conclusion 224

Recommendations 225

References 226

Annexes 227Annex- I : Time trend of Ghodasain VDC of Achham since 1950 227Annex- II : Time trend of Danabari, Ilam since 1950 228Annex III : Climate change effects in different sectors 229Annex: IV : Community defined vulnerability assessment criteria 230Annex V : Seasonal calendar of LAPA clusters 230Annex-VI : Cost benefit analysis 231Annex-VII : Information related to boundary actors 234Annex-VIII : Local Adaptation Plan of Action of Danabari VDC, Ilam 238Annex-IX : Local Adaptation Plan of Action of Ghodasain VDC, Achham 241

List of tablesTable 1 : Population of LAPA cluster by ethnicity 209Table 2 : Organizational development (OD) status of HFMC 215Table 3 : Vulnerability assessment matrix 218Table 4 : Institutions involved in rural development activities 220

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Introduction

The Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA) pilot is a process to gauge and acquire experiential learning of planning processes for adaptation interventins that support the most climate vulnerable communities. Through this process, sensitisation and knowledge generation on climate change issues, assessment of climate induced vulnerability, testing the comprehensive process of the planning and mainstreaming local level climate change issues, were planned and executed. The pilot resulted in concrete findings related to climate change impacts on human health and how communities can plan to adapt to them.

Initially, the institutional capacity of the Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT) was assessed regarding the organization as an experienced civil society organisation working for health and development in Nepal. The assessment was facilitated by CADP-N. The strategic plan (2009-2013) and thematic areas of BNMT, along with its organisational and administrative structure, were assessed for this purpose. “Responding to the effect of Climate Change, environment and disaster on human health” is one of BNMT’s key thematic areas. BNMT’s existing network of development partners (GOs and NGOs) and boundary actors (public, private and CSOs) was identified as an asset for maximizing adaptation options to combat climate change impacts on human health. Hence, the LAPA pilot to assess the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities and the effects of climate change on health, was very appropriate and timely.

Purpose of the pilot

The purpose of the LAPA pilot was to design a local climate change adaptation process to address the climate change impacts on the health of the most vulnerable people; and to integrate this adaptation planning into existing local planning frameworks at VDC and DDC level. The specific objectives of the LAPA pilot facilitated by BNMT were as follows:

I. To enable communities to understand the uncertainty of future climatic conditions and engage effectively in a process of developing adaptation plans at local level to safeguard their health and well-being in the light of climate change.

II. To strengthen the capacity of Health Facility Management Committees (HFMC) to mainstream community-identified climate change and health priorities within health system governance and development process.

EXECuTIVE SuMMARy

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Methodology

The LAPA pilot was conducted in Ghodasain and Danabari VDCs of Achham and Ilam respectively. The districts were selected so that Ghodasain VDC of Achham district represented the Mid-hills eco-zone of Far Western Nepal, whilst Danabari VDC of Ilam represented the Chure region of Eastern Nepal.

Different participatory methods were adopted to carry out pilot activities, such as an institutional assessment of HFMC using the spider web model, functional coordination with local level boundary actors, knowledge generation and sensitisation about climate change effects on human health, participatory M&E team formation, along with orientation on their roles and responsibilities. In addition vulnerability assessments took place using participatory tools and techniques such as time lines, social maps, preference ranking, seasonal calendar, focus group discussion and household survey and vulnerable site visits, cost benefit analysis using multi-criteria assessment matrix, and gateway analysis.

Functional coordination and gateway systems analysis: A consultation with district level stakeholders took place whereby background information about the LAPA pilot in reference to the NAPA and the Nepalese context was shared. The consultation was instrumental for formalizing the pilot project at the district level. At the same time, the gateway systems at VDC, ward and hamlet level were assessed to find out about access to the socio-economic services delivered by public, private, CSOs and self-help groups. Both supplier and demand side initiatives were reinforced in order to plan and execute the climate change adaptation plans of action.

Knowledge generation and sensitisation: All the BNMT staff, government line agencies, VDC, HFMC and other concerned stakeholders, LAPA monitoring and evaluation team, and community people were orientated and sensitised about health vulnerability in relation to climate change. In this process, local experiences were reflected on and scientific facts discussed.

Climate change vulnerability assessment: Climatic hazards, risks and resilience capacity of local communities was discussed among HFMC members, M&E team members and community people. The roles of different types of resources in increasing vulnerability and enhancing resilience were assessed. The participants were facilitated to consider how different types of resources are affected by climatic hazards and what resources are drawn on to adapt to the change. They were also asked to assess the degree to which natural, physical, financial, human and social resources or assets are affected by each hazard, and were prioritised through preference ranking. Likewise, the socio-economic impact of each hazard, along with a rating for the frequency of the hazard happening, was assessed. Social maps, time lines, preference ranking, hazard matrix, FGD and onsite monitoring were the assessment tools used for this purpose. Climate change issues in the local context and adaptation options for the vulnerable communities were identified. Issues and options for putting forward to the joint planning workshops were also discussed.

Cost benefit analysis and multi-criteria assessment matrix: These tools were used to prioritise selected adaptation options and interventions under this LAPA pilot. The Multi-criteria Assessment Matrix was also applied for prioritising the interventions, especially for selecting cross-cutting and value-added activities.

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Joint planning workshop on climate change adaptive initiatives at VDC level: A joint planning workshop was conducted in each LAPA VDC. The workshop was attended by different VDC level boundary actors and the representatives of DDC, DHO, DADO, DLDO, DADO, DDWSO, VDC, HFMCs, Agriculture Services Centre, Water user Groups, Forestry Ranger Posts and Community Based Organizations, Mother Groups, Women groups, Saving Credit Groups, Political Party representatives, and representatives of P1 discussed mainstreaming climate-sensitive health priorities into local level planning processes. This joint planning workshop gave a sense of ownership for continuation and support to the initiatives identified to improve the adaptive capacity of vulnerable people to climate change.

Monitoring and Evaluation team formation: A total of 3 M&E committees in each LAPA cluster/VDC were formed. A total of seven members were on the committees as representatives of HFMC and local stakeholders, and their roles were clearly identified. An orientation was conducted on the role and responsibility of the committee for effective implementation of LAPA. The committees were facilitated in their role of advocating the needs of the most vulnerable people and the supporting smooth execution of planned LAPA activities.

Interventions

Diarrhoea, vector borne diseases, malaria, eye infections and malnutrition are major local health issues in the LAPA clusters that are influenced by climatic factors. The issues are directly and indirectly linked to drought, landslides, floods, temperature, water pollution, all climate-related hazards likely to be exacerbated by climate change. It was also found that climate change hazards like flooding impede access to DDC level health facilities and put extra pressure on VDC facilities because of climate-related injuries and diseases. During these times VDC health facilities do not have the resources to cope with the additional requirements. Therefore strengthening VDC HFMC and VDC health infrastructure is highlighted as an adaptation priority.

In this regard, the following technical interventions were facilitated during the LAPA pilot:

1. Strengthening the health system at local level: Capacity building of HFMC to increase their response capacity to climate change effects was initiated for effective future planning. These initiatives include both small infrastructural developments (buildings, furniture, medical equipment, etc) at institution level and awareness programs at community level about the health impacts of climate change.

• Thevulnerabilityandhazardassessmentshighlightedthatduringrainyseasons,theroads are blocked for hours, days and sometimes weeks as well. Health services become inaccessible (geographically and economically) for the cases that need secondary and tertiary level services. In consideration of this a “Climate Change Adaptation Emergency Fund” was established, which will be mobilised by HFMC for emergency services to vulnerable people and communities.

• Onepriorityidentifiedbythecommunitywastheneedforanimproveddeliveryroomso that during flooding and heat stressed conditions, P1 women (as one of the most vulnerable groups) are able to access safe delivery services. Therefore a delivery room was constructed in the health facility in SHP of Danabari, Ilam through the LAPA pilot project, through the collaboration of the VDC, WWS and BNMT.

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• Asanimmediateneedidentifiedbythecommunity,supporttoconstructabuildingofPHC/ORC was given by the LAPA pilot at Ghodasain, Achham to increase the out-reach services to vulnerable people.

2. Community mobilization for water resource management: Increasing incidences of water borne and vector born diseases were identified during vulnerability assessments. These common water borne diseases found in LAPA clusters are: worm infestations, enteric fever, diarrhoea, dysentery and hepatitis. These diseases are related to intake of drinking water of degraded quality. Natural springs are damaged or drying up each year through likely climate change effects such as droughts, landslides and floods, and this is adding strain to the local health system. So the community has planned the following technical interventions using allocated resources for community support under the LAPA pilot:

• Twodrinkingwatersupplysystemmaintenanceprogramswereidentifiedaspriorityneeds of the vulnerable within the LAPA cluster. The present pilot project has channelled resources for this purposes. A construction committee and a monitoring and evaluation committee in each ward/cluster and VDC were formed for the facilitation of the program.

• WaterisamajorcommonpropertyresourceofcommunitypeopleintheLAPAclusters.The resource is being used for different purposes (drinking water, irrigation, water mill, etc) in the VDCs. The community people of the LAPA cluster in Ghodasain, Achham were facilitated to make a small project in relation to their felt needs, and they agreed to install an improved water mill. It was assumed that the technology makes it easy for women in the community to grind grains. It also facilitates male individuals in the grinding work too.

• SoilerosionanddegradationofcultivatedlandduetofloodingisamajorissueintheLAPA clusters. Cultivated land is being destroyed day by day, often resulting in vulnerable households being landless and homeless. In this regard a joint effort has been made for gabion construction to control the flooding in the VDCs.

3. Enhancing livelihood options of climate change vulnerable households: Frequencies of climatic hazards and their risks are higher than the resilience capacity of the communities in LAPA clusters. The access of communities in LAPA clusters to livelihoods assets (natural, physical, financial, human and social) is very low. Safe drinking water, skills-based trainings and material support for on-farm and off-farm income generation activities, networking with local level boundary actors in the VDC and DDC, institutional capacity building through small infrastructural support and emergency funds are all activities for increasing the resilience of the communities in the LAPA clusters. The vulnerable households benefit from the intervention because of the multiplier effect of the activities. For this purpose animal husbandry (goat, pig, cow and buffalo) was promoted in the LAPA cluster during the pilot. Effort was made to link vulnerable households with different local and district authorities and gateway systems.

Key findings

The key findings of the LAPA pilot are as follows:1. Droughts, exposure to infectious disease, and more frequent landslides and flooding

are adding strain on an already overstressed health system. This could be observed in the LAPA clusters in general and vulnerable communities in particular. Climate change hazards like flooding impede access to DDC level health facilities and put extra pressure

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on VDC facilities because of climate-related injuries and diseases. During these times VDC health facilities do not have the resources to cope with the additional requirements. Therefore strengthening VDC HFMC and VDC health infrastructure is highlighted as an adaptation priority.

2. The incidence of pyrexia of unknown origin (PuO), dengue fever, malaria (p. falciferum and p. vivex), mental illness and psychosocial stress, headaches, worm infestations, enteric fever, diarrhoea, dysentery, malnutrition, epidemic conjunctivitis and hepatitis are increasing. This increase was identified by the community as related to direct and indirect impacts of increasing climate stresses, as well as other compounding factors. Out of these, some health problems, such as pyrexia of unknown origin (PuO), dengue fever, malaria (p. falciferum and p. vivex) are vector born diseases that seem associated with increasing temperature. Community people noticed that mosquitoes are now found at higher altitude. Other health problems, such as worm infestations, enteric fever, diarrhoea, dysentery, and hepatitis, are water borne diseases related to the intake of drinking water of degraded quality.

3. The non-infectious health problems of mental health and headaches were associated by community members with the loss of family members and damaged assets resulting from increasing climate hazards. An epidemic of conjunctivitis was identified as related with the microbial situation in changing environmental condition that lead to poor hygiene and sanitation. The village women and opinion leaders also expressed feeling that uterus prolapse cases might be associated with fetching water from far from their residence. Natural springs are drying up each year, likely due to climate change effects like drought, frequent landslides and flooding. HIV/AIDS and STIs are also associated with labour migration abroad which, among other factors, is linked to loss of capital and reduced livelihoods options associated with climate change.

4. Accumulated effects of temperature rise, drought, less and high precipitation and natural calamities and disasters have created psychosocial distress, decreased grain and legumes production, animal diseases (Khoret) and chicken (Ranikhet), miscarriage/abortion of goats, attack of insects (Butterfly, Berea, Aduwa) on crops and diseases in banana, ginger and tiger grass, and decreasing sources of water. These are all harmful to the community in the long run since they decrease their resilience capacity.

5. Local level adaptation planning also contributes to VDC level plans, which in turn is shared and fed into the district and national level planning. So an integrated approach and multi-sectoral issues are addressed while tackling climate change impacts on human health at local level. In this sense, HFMC is an appropriate institution for climate change adaptation planning to address climate change impacts on human health. It enables local peoples’ voices to be heard at higher levels by advocating issues of climate health vulnerability and planning, and executing and monitoring the climate change adaptation programme at household, hamlet, ward and VDC level. HFMC also can refer the issues to the DDC and centre level authorities, as the Chairperson of VDC leads the HFMC for executing the health activities.

6. Health issues are directly related to the drinking water, food security and education sectors. These sectors are also led by VDC chairs in the local context. The institutional assessment and outcome mapping assessments showed that the chairperson and deputy-chairperson of each VDC acts as a member of District Council in which the mayor, deputy mayor of municipality, members of DDC and members of House of Representatives are also involved. The chair of the committee could advocate and coordinate at different levels for approving budgets for planning and programming, monitoring and evaluation of the program. So, any health sector intervention at the

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local level could be effective if the leading role is taken by the HFMC. This suggest that community adaptation plans could be scaled up in terms of public health issues, at VDC, DDC and central level through the HFMC/VDC chairperson. It also facilitates the drawing down of resources from VDC, DDC and other development partners to implement locally identified priority activities.

7. The HFMC is an effective institution for planning and implementation climate change adaptive health initiatives at the local level. However, the institutional assessment and outcome mapping assessments showed that functional coordination between wider stakeholders in the VDCs and DDCs is essential to address climatic health vulnerability, and for multi-disciplinary efforts reach up to partners who could facilitate the drawing down of resources for the execution of adaptation plans of action.

8. Mainstreaming the climate change health issues of the most vulnerable people into planning and implementing adaptation programmes can be done under the leadership of local governing bodies(VDC/DDC), government line agencies, CSOs and other development partners. Resources for infrastructure support are best channelled through the public sector (governing authorities and line agencies), whereas social mobilization and capacity building related activities are best facilitated by CSOs and I/NGOs.

9. Biodiversity losses in surroundings of the LAPA clusters were noticed by local communities. They reported that some medicinal plants, local breeds of cow “Nau-muthe Gai” (Achham), A3-size special butterflies (Ilam Danabari), plants with high values like Salish- Sal, an occupational ethnic group -chadara (Danabari Ilam) have been decreasing and disappearing. They suggested that local species and breeds of are more adaptive to the respective environment and local setting.

10. It was found that people have various good practices, such as fodder and bamboo plantation on farm land and stream bank,s along with disaster risk mapping and preparedness planning with the facilitation of CSOs. People also care and share with each other during the hard times of floods, landslides and epidemics.

Conclusion

Realistic planning of public health issues through the LAPA process and in LAPA design and execution is possible by strengthening and building the capacity of HFMCs. Involvement of HFMC in climate change vulnerability assessment gives them an idea of the health issues for planning adaptive options. Since HFMC comprises representatives from different boundary actors (VDC, schools, FCHV, health facility) in the VDC, it could contribute to building the capacity of vulnerable communities and draw down resources to implement locally identified priorities. The local governance bodies direct the HFMC in the execution of activities related to health services. Health issues are directly interrelated to drinking water supply, food security policies, purchasing capacity, livelihood options and awareness level and education. To manage sectoral and inter-sectoral development, the role of local governing authorities, CSOs, CBOs, self- help groups and communities themselves is very significant. These sectors are also led by the VDC chairperson. The chair-person and deputy-chair-person of the VDC act as the District Council in which the mayor, deputy mayor of municipality, members of DDC and members of the House of Representatives are also involved. So, any climate change interventions at the local level could be effective if the leading role is taken by the HFMC. The chairperson of the committee could advocate and coordinate levels for the passing of the

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budget for planning and programming, monitoring and evaluation. Functional coordination between boundary actors in the VDCs and DDCs is essential to address climatic change impacts on human health.

Climate change issues are complex and therefore demand the participation of targeted vulnerable communities and multiple stakeholders at every stage of LAPA (vulnerability assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). Likewise, proper attention is needed in the service delivery mechanism. The capacity of HFMC for responding to climate change health vulnerability and building the resilience capacity of vulnerable communities is to be emphasized. So the capacity of both duty bearers and rights holders should be enhanced. Also their relationship should be harmonised so that service delivery and utilisation mechanisms meet the needs of the vulnerable and addresses the climate change impacts (cardio respiratory diseases, injuries, nutritional deficiencies, diarrhoeal diseases, vector borne disease and psychological stress) on human health. Health being the end and means, it further helps vulnerable people to maximise their assets (natural, physical, financial, human and social) and thereby enhance adaptive capacity.

Constraints and adjustment required for LAPA • WeakinstitutionalarrangementofGOandI/NGOscanbeadjustedthoughfulfilmentof

sanctioned human resources, training and policy formulation and reinforcement. • Accessofvulnerablepeopletosocio-economicgatewayscanbeensuredthrough

RBA approach; both duty bearers and rights holders can be empowered and their interrelationship should be harmonised.

• Climatechangeinformation(Healthecosystem,medicalgeography,epidemiologicalfindings on health impacts of climate change) might limit the quality of programme design and execution of the adaptation programme of action. This can be addressed through operational research, pilot testing and modelling of adaptation activities in the six thematic sectors and various projects as mentioned in the NAPA.

Recommendations

1. Health rights programming through RBA approach could be effective if designed so that boundary actors and community people are involved in vulnerability assessment and participatory monitoring and evaluation that ensures synergy between bottom-up and top-down planning processes.

2. HFMC is an effective gateway system for maximizing climate change adaptive options, but it needs capacity building initiatives and technical back-up from CSOs.

3. Finance disbursement through formal institutions such as GO or I/NGO is recommended. In the case of support to vulnerable households, it should be distributed to them directly through CSOs. It was seen that climate vulnerable people (P1) are able to contribute to setting vulnerability assessment criteria to unanimously select the most needy people and distribute resources. They also become knowledgeable about climate change and able to dialogue with public-private and CSOs communities and monitor the LAPA execution.

4. The role of the monitoring and evaluation committee should be expanded and replicated to increase its involvement in implementation and advocacy of public health issues at different levels.

5. Drought, landslides and floods are major climate change hazards which act as predisposing factors for most vulnerable people to malnutrition, diarrhoea, typhoid, jaundice, malaria, skin disease, tapeworm and dengue, STD, HIV and AIDS in the selected LAPA clusters. Thus the interventions should be designed and implemented in consideration of these facts. Climate change affects people differently because of their social and economic status. Poor, marginalized and disadvantaged groups and women tend to suffer more from these effects. The participation of people most at risk needs to be recognized as a critical element of any successful intervention.

6. Climate has always played a crucial role in human life, hence changes in the climate affect health, substantively making it a means as well as an end in itself. So efforts at global, national, regional and local levels should make health service mechanisms an entry point for Climate Change adaptation plans.

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INTRODuCTION

Climate change is an emerging and significant threat to human health, affecting national, regional, and local communities. The government of Nepal has introduced a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) for Climate Change through a consultative process. The NAPA has been introduced to help Nepal understand and predict the likely impacts of climate change and improve its capacity to mitigate the negative effects. NAPA has identified six thematic areas and nine combined project profiles to respond to Nepal’s diversity of ecosystems, micro-climates and cultural and socio-economic circumstances. The inception workshop suggested the preparation of Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA) pilots within the framework of NAPA1. To materialise this LAPA piloting, a joint effort was created among Ministry of Environment, CSOs, funding agencies and the facilitating agency - Climate Adaptation Design and Piloting (CADP/N). BNMT was identified as an appropriate health sector civil society organisation to pilot the LAPA with a special focus on the effect of climate change on health.

BNMT has been working in the health sector in Nepal since 1967, especially with disadvantaged communities. BNMT’s programme and operations are guided by its vision, goal and objectives through strategic plans for certain periods of time which also take into account current organisational policies and priorities. BNMT’s new strategic plan( 2009-2013) has indentified and prioritised programmatic interventions on four major thematic areas – Health; Livelihoods; Effects of Climate Change, Environment, Disaster on Health; and Peace Building. Within BNMT’s programme themes, health programmes will remain pivotal. BNMT’s experience in the health sector has revealed the complex dynamics between health and economic development at the individual and family level. While poor health directly contributes to poverty, poverty suppresses health seeking behaviour. Nutrition and infectious diseases as well have a synergistic relationship. Lack of food, in terms of low nutritional dietary intake, leads to malnutrition, which increases vulnerability to infection and disease, while infection and illness contributes to decreased food intake. Risk of death from infections such as acute respiratory infection, malaria, TB, and diarrhoeal diseases is increased with poor nutritional status. And, with evidence of human-induced global warming and climate change now irrefutable, the probability of natural disasters is on the rise, increasing the risk for already vulnerable populations living at the margins in rural Nepal.

1 NAPA, Ministry of Environment, Government of Nepal, September, 2010

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Therefore, in order to translate its experiential learning and address the problems at the community level, BNMT is expanding its programme to include the fields of nutrition, food security, livelihoods, and effects of climate change, environment and disasters on human health and peace building. These programme areas form the basis for BNMT’s integrated health improvement programme; continuing to improve the health status of Nepali people. This will further its maturation as a developmental public health organisation. Categorically, BNMT` has been executing programme in the following thematic areas:

1. Promoting quality health services and ensuring health rights: under this thematic area, BNMT has been implementing programmes of TB, Lungs Health and HIV/AIDS, ensuring reproductive Health Rights, child Health and Development and promoting Mental Health, strengthening Health Service System, Consolidating and Promoting Health Financing Schemes.

2. Maximizing Livelihood Opportunities: under this, BNMT attempts to promote and strengthen Self- Help Groups, food security and income generation, building market linkages and support health micro infrastructure.

3. Responding to Effects of Climate Change, Environment and Disaster on Human Health: under this thematic area, BNMT is initiating environmental disaster preparedness and risk reduction and supporting socioeconomically vulnerable people to develop adaptive capacity.

44. Peace Building, Social Harmonization and Solidarity: BNMT supports conflict affected vulnerable women, children and people through Eu funded projects “Rehabilitating children and supporting families and communities affected by armed conflict in Nepal” and “Vulnerable

community package project” with essential health, livelihoods promotion education support and community empowerment.

This LAPA piloting process concentrates on planning adaptation initiatives related to climate change impacts on human health. The LAPA pilot was conducted in Ghodasain and Danabari VDCs of Achham and Ilam districts respectively. On the basis of a vulnerability analysis map, the districts were selected purposively to compare and contrast the climate change related health issues and responses at local level. The selected VDC of Achham district represents the Mid-Hills eco-zones and Far West Nepal; whereas the VDC of Ilam represents the villages of Chure regions and Eastern part of Nepal. Basically, this pilot supports capacity building and the implementation of projects to strengthen the health system’s ability to respond to climate change through a bottom-up approach. It enables communities to understand the uncertainties of future climatic conditions and engage them effectively in a process of developing adaptation plans of action. The findings of the pilot will inform planning and the implementation of climate resilient initiatives that are flexible enough to respond to changing climate and vulnerability conditions. This pilot has also generated knowledge on programmes of the health sector and analyses an integrated response to climatic change across different sectors.

Many of the health problems experienced by the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the LAPA clusters can be linked to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. However, linking health problems to any one climate impact is problematic because all health issues are multi-faceted. There is evidence of links between climate change and health through the impacts of droughts, floods and landslides on human wellbeing and security. There is also evidence of the

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relationship between climate change hazards and access to effective health services. Despite strong indications that the adverse effects of climate change can exacerbate present health challenges in the villages, existing local health systems have not addressed health issues adequately as they interact with changes in climate. Furthermore, the threats posed to human wellbeing and sustainable development by climate change and infectious diseases, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, are similar and interlinked. Therefore increasing climatic hazards are linked to both increased incidence of poor health and at the same time decreased capacity of health services to meet the needs of vulnerable people.

The LAPA piloting pilot comprises:

1. Training and orientation to community members on climate sensitive health services.

2. Assessment of climate change health vulnerabilities with participatory tools by applying community defined vulnerability criteria.

3. Support to the most vulnerable households with income generation activities for increasing their adaptive capacity.

4. Similarly, ward level and VDC level climate change adaptive initiatives were supported for ensuring accessibility of the most vulnerable households.

5. The HFMC at the VDC level was supported with sensitisation to climate change and in the identification of the adaptation needs of vulnerable communities to ensure their priorities are integrated local climate change priorities of the poor and vulnerable are integrated into local health planning.

LAPA: Strengthening of HFMC to Backup Essential Health Adaptation Initiatives of Climate Change Vulnerable communities

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LAPA Preparation: Capacity assessment, Vulnerability assessment, CC knowledge generation, LAPA at Ward and VDC level and final endorsement from VDC assembly and sharing at different levels

Institutional mechanism: BNMT / partner sensitization, PROME Committee at VDC and Ward level, HFMC, involvement of district line agencies,

Technology/good practices: fodder , bamboo plantation in farm & bank of streams, disaster risk mapping, preparedness plan in the facilitation of CSOs, caring /sharing in the hard time of floods, landslides & epidemics.

Financial mechanism: formal institutions GO and support directly to plans of action

• Approaches/ strategies

• Tools & methodology

• Good initiation/synergy

Conceptual Framework of LAPA

1.1 General objectives

The general objective of this pilot was to involve the HFMC in local level health planning and assess and strengthen their capacity to deliver climate sensitive health services at the local level and explore the potential of mainstreaming local health plans into VDC and DDC plans.

1.2 Specific objectives

Explore the local knowledge of climate adaptation and contributions to increasing adaptive capacity, to enhance adaptive project planning and mainstreaming within local planning processes

Strengthen the health system’s response to climate change by developing HFMC’s capacity to assess climate related health vulnerability and prepare LAPA from a Health and Climate Change perspective.

Strengthen the capacity of HFMCs to develop the committee as a local basic service provider and leader for climate change adaptation initiatives.

Develop a participatory M&E system at the local level (VDC, ward and community) to ensure effective delivery of adaptation support to vulnerable people through climate-sensitive health planning.

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2.1 Pilot area–Geographic and socioeconomic overview

2.1.1 GeographyThe LAPA pilot was conducted in Ghodasain and Danabari VDCs of Achham and Ilam districts respectively. The districts were selected purposively to compare and contrast the climate change related health issues at local level. The selected VDC of Achham district represents the mid-hill eco-zone and far western Nepal, whereas the selected VDC of Ilam represents the villages of Chure region and eastern Nepal. Achham District covers an area of 1,680 km and has a population of 231,285 (CBS, 2001). Likewise, Ilam district covers an area of 1,703 km and has a population of 282,806 (CBS, 2001). The pilot area lies between the altitudes of 610 to 4876 meters. According to NAPA (2010), Achham district is categorised as highly vulnerable and Ilam as a low vulnerability district. LAPA clusters in Ghodasain VDC of Achham District and Danabari of Ilam district are exposed to climate related hazards such as floods and landslides.

2.1.2 PopulationAltogether these VDCs comprise a population of 20004 (CBS, 2001). A total of 70 percent of the population is in Danabari VDC of Ilam District, and 30% of the population is in Ghodasain VDC of Achham district. Of the total of the population of Ghodasain VDC (5973), 79% are Brahmin and Chhetri, followed by 21% Dalit. Likewise, in Danabari the majority of the population (69%) are Janajati, followed by 24% Brahmin and Chhetri and 7% Dalit. The LAPA cluster in Ghodasain, Achham is concentrated in the wards where the Dalit population is higher, and the cluster of Danabari Ilam is concentrated in the wards where the population of Janajati is higher. The pilot focused on the socio-economic and climate change vulnerable communities, particularly rural poor, children, women, Dalits and Janajati people affected by climate change. The key LAPA beneficiaries are the poor and marginalized people living in

METHODOLOGy

TABLE 1:Population of LAPA cluster by ethnicityDistricts and VDCs Households Population by ethnicity

Chhetri/ Brahmin Janajati Dalit

Danabari VDC of Ilam District 2894 24% 69% 7% 100%

(n=14068)

Ghodasain VDC of Achham District 655 79% 0% 21% 100%

(n=5973)

Source: LAPA piloting field survey 2010

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the LAPA clusters, who have socio-economic vulnerability including low access to health, livelihoods and other socio-economic gateway systems.

2.1.3 OccupationAgriculture, wage labour and labour migration are the major sources of earnings for the people in LAPA clusters. During the LAPA pilot period, a household survey was conducted for 28 climate change vulnerable households. The study shows that household economies of rural areas rely on diverse sources of income, i.e. agriculture, wage labour/labour migration, business, tailoring and driving. Agriculture is a source of livelihood for 39% (11) families among the surveyed households. They are subsistence farmers. According to the respondents, the food sufficiency level of the households is very low, i.e. less than three months. Similarly, wage labour or labour migration is the major means of earning for 46% (13) surveyed households. Of the total surveyed households very few were found to be involved in small scale business (7%), tailoring (4%) or in transport (4%). Although agriculture was the major occupation of all caste ethnic groups in the LAPA clusters, they were also involved in all categories of occupations. The vulnerable people (p1) are not fully dependent on a particular occupation; they accept any available work, irrespective of their skills.

2.1.4 ClimateThe average annual rainfall of Achham district is 1891 millimetre, whereas the rainfall of Ilam district is 2625 millimetre annually. Similarly, the temperature of Ghodasain VDC ranges from 200c to 300c, and of Danabari is 250c on average. According to village people of Ghodasain, Achham snow falls during the winter season in the upper parts of the VDC. The topography of the VDC covers 540 metre to 3820 metre in altitude.

2.2Approaches and tools

2.2.1. Institutional assessment: First of all, an experience and institutional capacity assessment of BNMT as a health sector civil society organisation was conducted by CADP/Nepal. While doing so, the strategic thematic areas of BNMT, its organisation and administrative structure were assessed. Also the BNMT’s boundary actors (public, private and CSOs) were identified. BNMT had strategically outlined four Thematic Areas in its Strategic Plan -2009-2013, of which “Responding to the effect of Climate Change, environment and disaster on human health” was one of them. Hence this pilot initiative to assess the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities and the effects of climate change on health was very appropriate and timely. An assessment of BNMT’s state and non-state partners as boundary actors for climate health vulnerability was also carried out.

2.2.2. Consultation with district level stakeholdersA consultation with district level stakeholders2 took place during the LAPA pilot. Background information of LAPA with reference to NAPA and the Nepalese context was shared. The consultation was instrumental for formalizing the pilot project at the district level.

2.2.3 Orientation of HFMC on climate change vulnerability assessment toolsAn orientation programme on climate change impacts and their effects on human health was conducted in the LAPA clusters. The program was conducted at VDC and ward level. HFMC members, representatives of political parties, local government authorities and CSOs participated in the programme. An institutional assessment was used to identify existing capacity gaps (including gender and social

2 They are the representatives of DDC,DHO, DADO, DLDO, DFO, DDWSO, and civil society organizations

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inclusion issues) of the HFMC in responding to climate change vulnerabilities. The climate change effects on the health of community people were assessed. Scientific facts and reflection of daily life of local individuals was discussed. The following vulnerability assessment tools were used.

• Time line The timeline is a key tool for collecting

information related to climate-induced disasters. The required information was gathered from elderly people in the VDCs, teachers, and leaders of political parties and members of HFMC. Landslide, floods, drought and cholera were the major calamities faced by community members over the last 60 years3. The district-wise details of the assessment are presented in Annex-I and Annex-II.

• Social mapping preparation This tool was used to identify natural

features (streams, forests, barren land, and landslides) of the LAPA clusters. Physical features identified on the map included housing settlements, location of services outlets such as schools, health facilities, agriculture centres, veterinary service centres, saving credit groups, local pharmacy, and female community health volunteers. Facilitation helped identify the visible impacts of climate change on human health and livelihoods. The participants were asked to locate landslide, flood and drought affected wards and vulnerable households in the LAPA cluster. The criteria used to select vulnerable households are presented in Annex-IV.’

• Participatory hazards ranking This tool was used to compare and

prioritise the most critical local climatic hazards and differentiate between climate change induced and other

natural hazards. It was also useful to understand how communities perceive and evaluate local hazards. Climatic hazards were listed during the discussion with participants. Then, climatic hazards were arranged in both row and column headings of a square table, as seen in the photographs. The participants considered every pair of hazards in turn and decided by consensus the most critical hazard and entered this into the box. When the table was complete, the number of times each hazard was chosen was added up. These scores suggested a chronologic order of priorities.

3 The collected incidences happened in different points of time during the period of 1950 to 2010.

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• Vulnerability Matrix This tool was used to get an overview

and quantify climatic hazard risks and the resilience capacity of local communities. This was useful for the identification of the roles of different types of resources in increasing vulnerability and enhancing resilience. The participants were facilitated to consider how different types of resources are affected by climatic hazards and what resources are drawn on to adapt to the changes. They were also asked to assess the degree to which natural and physical resources are affected by each hazard, and these were prioritised through preference ranking. Likewise, the socio-economic impact of each hazard, along with its experienced frequency rating, was assessed. The details of the matrix are presented in Table 3.

• Seasonal Calendar This tool was used to explore the changes

during the year. It was instrumental in generating information about seasonal trends within a community and identifying periods of particular stress and vulnerability. Key informants were asked to make diagrams to illustrate trends and changes in specific activities over different periods.

2.2.4 Focus group discussionAfter the identification of climate change vulnerable households in the VDCs, a focus group discussion was conducted among the P1 beneficiaries, ward level monitoring committee members, school teachers, opinion leaders and major political parties, FCHVs and some senior citizens, and the climate relevant information was verified. Additional data related to climate change effects was collected through the discussion. A total of 14 individuals participated in each focus group discussion. The participants of the discussions were from the households of LAPA clusters that faced climatic hazards in one way or another. Vulnerable households were identified during the facilitation of social map

preparation at ward level. The accessibility of the households to different livelihood assets and gateway systems in the wards and VDC was assessed during the discussion. At the same time they were facilitated to plan a scheme so that their adaptive capacity could be increased.

2.2.5 Household SurveyThis was the major tool used to collect primary data related to climate vulnerable households. For the household survey a standardized format was prepared to collect demographic information. Similarly, household economic information (agricultural production, livestock, and other sources of annual income), and information about access to social services outlets (school, health facilities) and their distance and pattern of use was collected. The survey was limited to those households which were identified as the most vulnerable during the social map preparation.

2.2.6 Cost benefit analysisCost:Benefit Analysis was used for estimating social, economical, environmental and other cost alternatives that meet the adaptation needs of the people in the pilot areas. This tool made it easy to understand the monitory and non-monitory significance of activities, present costs, determine benefits, identify risks and draw economically sound

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conclusions. The tool was used to prioritize the proposed different adaptive initiatives. The detail of the analysis of different proposed activities is presented in Annex- VI. Multi-criteria Assessment was used to prioritise the interventions. It was found particularly useful for selecting cross-cutting and value added activities.

2.2.7 Joint planning workshop on climate change adaptive initiatives at the VDC levelA joint planning workshop was conducted in each LAPA VDC. The workshop was attended by different boundary actors in the VDCs and the representatives of DDC, DHO, DADO, DLDO, DADO, DDWSO, VDC, HFMCs, Agriculture Services Centre, Water user Groups, Forestry Ranger Posts and Community Based Organizations, Mothers’ Groups, Women’s groups, Saving Credit Groups, Political Party representatives, and representatives of P1 for mainstreaming climate sensitive health priorities into local level planning processes. The findings of vulnerability assessments were discussed in relation to different sectors (health, forest, biodiversity, water resource, agriculture, land). The details are presented in Annex-

III. This joint planning workshop strategically gave a sense of ownership for continuation and support to initiatives identified to improve the adaptive capacity of vulnerable people. Details of the pilot boundary actors is presented in Annex-VII

2.2.8 Gateway Analysis The gateway analysis at VDC, ward and hamlet levels identified access to socio-economic services delivered by public, private, CSOs and self-help groups. Both supply and demand efforts were reinforced to support the planning and execution of the adaptation plan of action.

2.2.9 Monitoring and Evaluation team formation A total of 3 M&E committees in each LAPA cluster/VDC were formed. A total of seven members were on the committees as representatives of HFMC and local Members were orientated on the roles and responsibilities of the committees, and their roles were clearly identified for the effective implementation of LAPA. The committees were facilitated for advocating the needs of the most vulnerable people and supporting smooth execution of planned LAPA activities.

3.1. Climate friendly technical interventions

The LAPA pilot intended to identify effective and efficient mechanisms for increasing adaptive capacity. With this in mind, the issues related to climate change impacts on human health were identified and discussed among the village people and ranked. Then the root causes of each issue were discussed, along with potential solutions. The issues were found to be directly and indirectly linked with drought, landslides, floods, temperature, which are known to be likely effects of climate change. In this regard, the following technical interventions were facilitated during LAPA pilot:

3.1.1. Strengthening the health systems at the local levelGiven the need for strengthening the capacity of HFMC/health facilities to provide protection from climate-related risks, the pilot found that priority should be given to strengthening the existing primary health care services including the human resource capacity. For example, enhancing the capacity of rapid response teams for diseases surveillance, monitoring, response systems and risk communications to reduce the burden of climate sensitive health outcomes is very important. During the LAPA pilot the capacity assessment of HFMCs was made using the spider web model. The status of leadership quality, decision making process, resource mobilization and program implementation quality of HFMCs were assessed. Table 2 shows that the organizational development status of HFMCs needs to be improved. The status of service delivery or program implementation is seen as poor in comparison to other aspects. The data shows that capacity building activities for strengthening health systems

is evident. A status score of 4 is excellent; 3 is good; 2 is satisfactory; and 1 is poor or unsatisfactory. During the assessment different parameters were developed in relation to different categories. The present status of every parameter was discussed and scored by HFMC members and other participants.

As per the national health policy of the Ministry of Health

OuTPuTS / FINDINGS

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TABLE 2: Organizational development (OD) status of HFMCCategory Expected status/score Present status/score

Ghodasain SHP Achham Danabari SHP Ilam

Democratic leadership quality 4 2.5 (62.5%) 2.7 (67.5%)

Decision making process 4 2 (50%) 2 (50%)

Resource mobilization 4 2.7 (67.5%) 2.8 (70%)

Program implementation 4 1.8 (45%) 2 (50%)

Source: LAPA piloting field survey 2010

and Population, there is one SHP in each VDC from which safe motherhood and newborn health, child health, vector borne disease control, family planning, health education, out-patient services, nutrition, community health service, immunisation, infectious disease control, out-reach clinic operation and essential drug supply is provided. The overall management and resource mobilisation of HFMC, in collaboration with boundary actors, governance bodies (VDC/DDC) and district line agencies, are crucial to address the climate change health vulnerability in local communities. Some of the activities which have been initiated are described below:

• Establishment of a climate change adaptation emergency fund During rainy seasons, the roads are

blocked for hours, days and sometimes weeks. Health services become inaccessible (geographically and economically) for the cases that need secondary and tertiary level services. To support vulnerable people in such cases “Climate Change Adaptation Emergency Funds” have been established. In consideration to this a climate change adaptation emergency fund was established, which will be mobilised by the HFMC in emergency situations. A fund mobilization guideline has been made for its effective mobilization. The fund recovery will be done from stakeholders (VDC and CSOs) in the VDC.

• Delivery room construction in health facility Capacity building of HFMC for

responding to increasing climate change effects has been initiated for effective future planning. These initiatives include both small infrastructural development (building, furniture, medical equipment, etc) at institution level, and awareness programs at community level about health impacts of climate change. In this regard, support for the construction of a delivery room in the SHP of Danabari, Ilam was made through the LAPA pilot project. The room was constructed with the collaboration of VDC, WWS and BNMT.

• PHC/ORC building construction In response to immediate needs

identified by the community, support to construct a building of PHC/ORC was made by LAPA pilot in Ghodasain VDC. This will increase the provision of out-reach services to the doorsteps of vulnerable people, which will further help to address the climate change vulnerability.

3.1.2. Community mobilization for water resource managementDuring the vulnerability assessment, several diseases with varying degrees of severity, and increasing incidences of water borne and vector born diseases were identified. These were: pyrexia of unknown origin (PuO), dengue fever, malaria (p. falciferum

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and p. vivex), worm infestations, enteric fever, diarrhoea, dysentery and hepatitis. Out of these some health problems such as pyrexia of unknown origin (PuO), dengue fever, malaria (p. falciferum and p. vivex) are vector borne diseases which seem associated with increasing temperature. Community members noticed that mosquitoes have been found at higher altitudes in recent years. Other health problems like worm infestations, enteric fever, diarrhoea, dysentery, and hepatitis are water borne disease related to the intake of drinking water of degraded quality. Natural springs are drying year by year due to climate change effects such as droughts, frequent landslides and flooding, and these are adding strain to the local health system. Thus the community planned the following technical interventions using allocated resources for community support through the LAPA pilot:

• Maintenance/renovation of Drinking water Supply Systems Two drinking water supply system

maintenance programs are identified as priority needs of the vulnerable within the LAPA cluster. It was found that water borne diseases are the major diseases in the LAPA clusters. In this regard LAPA included activities to support the renovation of water supply and sanitation systems. So the pilot channelled its resources for the same purposes. A construction committee and a monitoring and evaluation committee in each ward/cluster and VDC were formed to facilitate the program. A contractual agreement was made with the HFMC.

• Improved water mill (IWM) installation Water is a major common property in the

LAPA clusters. The resource is being used for different purposes (drinking water, irrigation, water mill, etc). The community in Ghodasain, Achham agreed to install an improved water mill (IWM). The IWM

is a technology which makes it easy for women to grind grains but the device (IWM) could mobilize male individuals in the grinding work too.

• Gabion construction Soil erosion and degradation of

cultivated land due to flooding is a major issue in Danabari VDC of Ilam district. The cultivated land is being destroyed, often resulting in vulnerable households being landless and homeless. In this regard a joint effort has been made for gabion construction to control the flooding.

3.1.3. Enhancing the livelihood options of climate vulnerable householdsTable 2 shows the frequency of climatic hazards and their risk of happening are greater than the communities’ resilience capacity. Fore example, the risk score of landslides and flooding is higher (16) than the very low resilience score (1) of the communities. Likewise, the risk score of diarrhoea is twelve against two resilience capacity of the communities. The risk score of drought is nine against two resilience capacity of the communities.

The data presented in table 2 suggests that the access of communities in LAPA clusters to livelihoods assets (natural, physical, financial, human and social) is very low. Safe drinking water, skills-based trainings and material support for on-farm and off-farm income generation activities, networking with local level boundary actors in the VDC and DDC, institutional capacity building through small infrastructure were all identified as activities for increasing the resilience capacity of the communities in the LAPA clusters. The vulnerable households benefit from the interventions because of the multiplier effect of the activities. For this purpose animal husbandry (goat, pig, cow, and buffalo) was promoted during the pilot. Links were established between vulnerable

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households and different local and district authorities or gateway systems. A total of 28 families benefited from the activity. The cost of an animal was equivalent to 6,000 rupees. The support was directly provided to the selected vulnerable households through the stewardship of the HFMC and monitoring and evaluation committee members. The details of proposed climate change adaptive activities of Danabari VDC of Ilam and Ghodasain VDC of Achham district are presented in Annex-VIII and Annex-IX respectively.

3.2. Good practices vis. mainstreaming

Adaptation is the prime concern for vulnerable communities whose contribution to green house gas emissions is negligible. The health impacts of climate change have a number of important characteristics that must be taken into account when framing appropriate adaptation responses. Integration of health impacts of climate change into broader developmental plans is a good initiative of the present LAPA pilot. Coordination with stakeholders is essential for ensuring health effects are given due importance for this purpose. For example, coordination with other sectors such as agriculture to address the issues of food security and water sector to deal with water problems can help reduce the adverse health effects. The interaction with the media and public consultation is crucial for the propagation of messages of climate change and mainstreaming adaptation activities in to VDC and DDC level plans. A multi-sectoral framework for responding to climate change impacts on human health is also very useful and evident in this pilot.

According to the self-governance act, the scope of the VDC refers to the functions relating to agriculture, rural drinking water, works and transport, education and

sports, irrigation and soil conservation and river basin control, language and culture, tourism and cottage industry, and others. The Chairperson of the VDC looks to the HFMC for executing the activities related to health services. Health issues are directly interrelated to the drinking water, agriculture/food supply and education sectors. The sectors are also led by VDC chairs. The chairperson and deputy-chairperson of each VDC acts as a member of the District Council in which members of DDC and members of House of Representatives are also involved. So, any health sector intervention at local level could be effective if the leading role was taken by HFMC. And also the chair of VDCs could advocate and coordinate at different levels for approving planning, budgeting, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reinforcing the programme and policies.

3.3. Socio-economic service delivery mechanism/gateway systems in the LAPA clusters

The lowest institutional arrangement of governance for the LAPA clusters is the VDC. The educational institutions like primary and secondary schools are mostly scattered across the VDCs. The level of general knowledge of the VDC inhabitants is related to the level of education. NGOs are popular among educated people in the VDCs but these may not have become institutions of common interest to the most climate vulnerable people. There is a provision of village working committees of each political party at the VDC level, which can advocate climate change vulnerability issues in VDC and DDC forums for a proper response.

The government mechanisms handling development activities were not found to be efficient in the LAPA clusters. Delay in service delivery is a common feature. The lowest level of operational health

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4 It is an assessment of access of community to economic resources, natural, physical, economic, human capital and social network to cope with climate change impacts based on given a score of 1- 4 to identify the total risk of climatic hazards and resilience capacity of the communities

mechanism is the SHP, as part of the government provision under the local self-governance act. under the local self-governance system, there is high participation of local people in bringing social equality in mobilizing and allocating resources for the all-round development in their localities. The DDC coordinates all the local level development initiatives. In the case of health related activities D/PHO provides technical support to them.

The table 3 shows that the involvement of HFMC and CSOs in development activities related to health services at local level is high in comparison to other sector services. It also suggests that the HFMC is one of the more effective gateway systems for implementing health programmes at the local level for maximizing climate change adaptive options in vulnerable communities for health and wellbeing. Capacity building

initiatives are to be emphasized in the technical backup of CSOs for the time being. Health issues are linked with livelihood options, food security, water sources, environment and sanitation. In this sense, health services to address climatic hazards are best channelled through HFMCs in close coordination with other gateway systems or stakeholders in the VDCs and DDCs. This mechanism has been effective while implementing technical interventions during this LAPA pilot.

3.4. Finance delivery mechanism

The financial resource allocated for technical adaptation initiatives under this LAPA pilot was delivered directly to selected vulnerable households through the HFMC . This LAPA experience and

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10Hazards context Types of livelihood Socio- Frequency of Total Risk Livelihoods resources Total resilience assets affected economic hazards events to cope with capacity impact Natural Physical Economic Human Social

Climate change hazards

Drought 4 3 3 3 9 1 3 2 2

Landslide 4 4 4 4 16 1 1 1 1

Flooding 4 4 4 4 16 1 1 1 1

Climate Hazards induced health vulnerability

Diarrhoea 1 2 3 4 12 2 1 2 1.6

Malnutrition 1 1 4 2 8 1 1 2 1.3

Eye infection 1 1 2 4 8 2 3 2 2.3

Jaundice 1 1 2 4 8 1 3 1 1.3

TABLE 3: Vulnerability assessment matrix4

For columns 2,3 and 4 For column 5 For columns 7,8 and 9

1-Low or no effect 3- Severe effect 1-Low frequency 1-Low to no availability 3- High availability

2-Moderate effect 4- Very severe effect 2-Moderate frequency 2-Medium availability 4- Very high availability

3- High frequency

Source: LAPA field survey 2010

219


interaction with different individuals and stakeholders in the LAPA cluster suggests that channelling financial resources could be effective through local governing bodies for infrastructural support, whereas social mobilization for capacity building activities to enhance adaptive options of vulnerable communities could be effective if financial resources are channelled through the HFMC. The HFMC is a semi-authoritarian organization. There is a specific protocol for formation and operation of the HFMC. It is a mandatory committee for every health institution. There is a provision that at least one SHP should be in every VDC. In this sense the following channels are suggested for the purpose of financial delivery for implementing LAPA:

I. Formal institution/VDC: If the magnitude of the fund is large and the nature of the project is complex (having more than three sectoral interventions).

II. Semi-authoritarian or intermediary organization/HFMC

III. CBOs, self-help groups and user groups.IV. Directly to principle beneficiaries to

support their household adaptation plan of action.

3.5. Effectiveness of tools and approaches

The LAPA pilot shows that climate change adaptation initiatives can be implemented effectively through linking with capacity building of local health governance, improving the livelihoods of vulnerable households and community mobilization for water resource management within the LAPA clusters. Joint initiatives between the VDC, HFMC, user groups and vulnerable households is an effective way of addressing climate change impacts on human health.

The spider web model, social mapping, time lines, seasonal calendars, resource estimation and sharing, body mapping, preference/pair-wise ranking, vulnerability matrix and gateway analysis tools were used for the vulnerability assessment and facilitation of the LAPA process. Almost all tools used were found to be effective and relevant except the body mapping. The body mapping tool was found appropriate for BCC activities but less useful for vulnerability assessments.

The cost benefit analysis tool was also used for prioritizing selected adaptation options. This tool is very useful to prioritise activities. It was also found effective for awareness rising on costs and benefits of the proposed activities, harmful impacts to society, environment and other issues. It could provide a vision to planners, though it is a little difficult to facilitate in larger and heterogeneous groups. It needs guidelines and experienced facilitators as it is difficult to carry out by community groups themselves.

3.6. Mechanisms to reach the climate vulnerable

Functional coordination between the DDC, DHO, VDC, and HFMC as the functional and structural unit for local health system governance and user groups at local level could be a mechanism to address climatic hazards locally. There is a need for more research to model the health impacts of climate change in specific locations, evaluate approaches for reducing vulnerability, and perform analyses of the cost-effectiveness of different technical, procedural and cross-cutting adaptation approaches. Research is required into the possible local effects of climate change, people’s perception of the impacts, available adaptation options and the

220


Duties and Responsibilities CG DDC VDC HFMC/HP CSOs Pvt. Sector

1. Health services

EPI, PHC/ORC √ √

Nutrition √ √ √

ARI √ √

CDD √ √

Safe motherhood √ √ √

Family planning √ √

FCHV √ √ √

Diseases control (Malaria, TB, Leprosy, STD,

HIV, AIDS: morbidity) √ √ √

Curative services √

2. Road transport and physical planning

Roads and bridges √ √

Trail improvements/maintenance √

settlement plan development √ √

vendors market development √

3. Irrigation

Construction and rehabilitation of surface

irrigation scheme √

Operation and maintenance of surface

irrigation scheme √ √

4. Education

Pre and primary education √

Non-formal education √

Secondary education √

Higher secondary education √

School Building construction √ √ √

5. Water Resource and electricity

Large hydropower plants √

Small and mini hydro-power plant √

Micro-hydro plant √ √ √

Electricity line extension √ √

Electricity distribution √ √

6. Agriculture, Livestock and cooperatives

Agriculture and Livestock extension √ √ √

Agro-fertilizer and pesticides √ √ √

Agro-vet technical services √ √ √

Market collection center √ √ √

Cooperative services √ √ √

TABLE 4: Institutions involved in rural development activities

221


options for reducing impacts. The research must contribute to finding the best coping strategies and protecting the health of people, rather than just focusing on avoiding the negative consequences of climate change and setting targets for greater use of new energy technologies.

Likewise, it is important to improve understanding of the process of climate change adaptation. This includes gaining

better knowledge of the process of adaptation decision–making, roles and responsibilities in the adaptation of individuals, communities and monitoring and evaluation committee. The involvement of M&E committees enriches every step of the adaptation planning cycle, including the climate vulnerability assessment, as their involvement has been instrumental in the technical activities developed under the pilot LAPA.

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING LAPAS

The LAPA pilot has shown that adaptive options related to public health issues can be mainstreamed through the development of the of HFMCs. The climate adaptation options are to be planned and implemented involving vulnerable people and communities, and contribute to bottom-up planning. The implementation of technical interventions within LAPA suggests that any planning on the bases of first hand information is quite practical. The information collected through the use of vulnerability assessment tools (time line, social mapping, preference ranking, and vulnerability matrix, cost benefit analysis) is reliable and highly relevant to climate adaptation planning. The priority issues to be addressed are identified by people who are the primary concern of the planning.

The Chairperson of the VDC leads the HFMC for executing the health activities in the respective VDC. Health issues are directly related to the drinking water, food security and education sectors. These sectors are also led by VDC chairs. The chairperson and deputy-chairperson of each VDC acts as a member of the District Council in which mayor, deputy mayor of municipality, members of DDC and members of House of Representatives are also involved. So, any health sector intervention at local level could be effective if the leading role was taken by the HFMC. The chair of the committee could advocate and coordinate at different levels for approving budgets for the planning and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the program. These facts suggest that community adaptation plan could be up-scaled in terms of public health issues at VDC, DDC and central level through the HFMC/VDC chairperson. They also facilitate the drawing down of resources from VDC, DDC and other development partners to implement locally identified priorities.

The piloted LAPA technical interventions show that participation of target groups and boundary actors in the VDC and DDC level planning and process facilitation of the adaptive activities makes it easy to monitor and evaluate the programme. It also suggests that involvement of representatives of user groups, HFMC and gateway systems/boundary actors in monitoring and evaluation committee is effective. The M&E committee is to be facilitated for advocating climate issues for planning, resource generation for implementing LAPA, and participation in LAPA implementation themselves.

222

BARRIERS AND GAPS TO DEVELOPING AND DELIVERING LAPAS

The emergence and re-emergence of a number of diseases in recent times can be attributed in varying degrees to climate change induced environmental and ecological factors, derived mainly from human interactions with ecosystems and consequent changes in biodiversity and habitat through greenhouse gas emission, deforestation, use of pesticides and overgrazing, etc. This is linked to poor governance in responding to the impacts of climate change on human wellbeing and security, on the one hand, and the less effective health governance to address major health issues which exist predominantly in the LAPA clusters, on the other. This leads to the observation that the combination of the two interlinked problems of poor climate change governance and inappropriate health governance could have a devastating impact on livelihoods and human wellbeing.

The absence of elected representatives and VDC secretaries is one of the major barriers to developing and delivering LAPAs. In this context, coordination with political parties in the VDCs is essential. Planned activities at district level during the LAPA pilot were not sufficient. Participation of the DDC and DHO is to be emphasized. Some information has to be generated on health vulnerability by carrying out research on health ecosystems, medical geography and an epidemiological study of infectious and non-infectious disease and health problems.

5.1 Areas of weakness

The frequency of drought, landslides and flooding in the LAPA clusters is greater in recent years. However, it is not clear if the calamities occurred due to climate change or any other reason. The existing local heath governance system needs support from external agencies for enhancing its capacity to respond to the effects of climatic hazards on human health. Another fear is that specific climate change vulnerability may be undermined and diluted by too much generalisation in development practices.

5.2 Ways forward

The VDCs are not playing active roles in their own catchments due to the absence of elected representatives and insufficient staff. It could be more effective to facilitate the joint effort of multiple service providers to enhance adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities and households. It would also be logical if political party representatives were facilitated in the VDCs for the advocacy of climate change adaptation initiatives at VDC and DDC level.

223

CONCLuSION

Realistic incorporation of public health issues in LAPA design and sound implementation is possible by capacitating district and local health system governance including HFMCs by establishing a systematic process. Involvement of HFMCs in climate change vulnerability assessments gives an opportunity to link and integrate health issues into the planning of adaptive options at local level and beyond. HFMCs consist of representatives from different boundary actors (VDC, schools, FCHV, health facility) in the VDC. They could contribute to building capacity to reach-up and draw-down resources to implement locally identified priorities. The Chairperson of the VDC leads the HFMC for executing the activities related to health services. Health issues are directly related to the drinking water, food security and education sectors. These sectors are also led by the VDC chairperson. The chairperson and deputy-chairperson of each VDC acts as a member of the District Council in which mayor, deputy mayor of municipality, members of DDC and members of House of Representatives are also involved. So, any health sector intervention at local level could be effective if the leading role was taken by the HFMC. The formation of HFMCs is guided by the Local Self Governance Act 2055 and as per the directive of the Ministry of Health and Population. The chairperson of the committee could advocate and coordinate at different levels for passing budgets for planning and programming, monitoring and evaluation of the program. Functional coordination between wider stakeholders/boundary actors in the VDCs and DDCs is essential to address the impacts of climatic hazards on human health.

In every programme, participation of targeted vulnerable communities is to be ensured at every stage of the LAPA process (vulnerability assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). Likewise, proper attention is needed for the service delivery mechanism. The capacity of HFMCs for responding to climate change effects, and building resilience capacity of vulnerable communities are to be emphasized. So, capacity building activities for service delivery outlets, such as SHP, HP, PHCC, agriculture service centre, veterinary centres, microfinance centre etc, have to be strengthened and made accessible to vulnerable people, so that the assets (natural, physical, financial, human and social) can be maximised for addressing climate change impacts on human health, such as cardio respiratory diseases, injuries, nutritional deficiencies, diarrhoeal diseases, vector borne disease and psychological stress.

224

1. Health rights programming through a rights-based approach could be effective if designed with the involvement of boundary actors and community people in vulnerability assessments using different participatory tools and criteria defined by vulnerable people.

2. The HFMC is an effective entry point for addressing not only climate change vulnerability but also other development initiatives for adaptation plans of action. To do this, it needs capacity building initiatives and technical back-up from CSOs.

3. With regard to financial delivery, it would be best if funds were disbursed through GO or I/NGOs. In the case of support to vulnerable households, it should be distributed directly to support household level adaptation activities through the facilitation of CSOs.

4. Role of monitoring and evaluation committee is to be enlarged, so that is involved in implementation and advocacy of public health issues at different levels.

5. Drought, landslides and floods are major climate change variables which act as predisposing factors for people most vulnerable to malnutrition, diarrhea, typhoid, jaundice, malaria, skin disease, tapeworm, and dengue, STD, HIV and AIDS in the selected LAPA catchments. So interventions should be designed and implemented with consideration of these facts. Climate change affects people differently depending on their social and economic status. Poor, marginalized and disadvantaged groups and women tend to suffer more from these effects. Participation of people most at risk of climate change effects needs to be recognized as critical elements of successful adaptation interventions. Health is both a means an end with regard to climate change. So the climate change adaptive planning should take this into account to get health results in people and vice versa, as health is an interdisciplinary concern.

RECOMMENDATIONS

225

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Imperial College Press, London, uK, viii+347 pp.

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20 (2): 8-15.

Tiwari, BN. (2001): Food Security and Vulnerability Status in Nepal, The Economic Journal of Nepal, Vol.

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WWF 2003. Buying Time: A user’s Manual for Building Resistance and Resilience to Climate Change

in Natural Systems. L.J. Hansen, J.L. Biringer and J.R. Hoffman (eds). http://www.panda.org/

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226

year Major events related with cc effect/impact community response

ANNEX- ITime trend of Ghodasain VDC of Achham since 1950

Drought

Bovine diarrhoea

Caterpillar (Salaha)

Drought

Cholera

Small pox

Landslide in ward No 1

Landslide in ward No 1, 5, 6 and 8

Heavy rainfall, Flood

and landslide

High incidence of measles

Cholera in Lanchi

Drought

Flood

Landslide

Eye infection

High incidence of tapeworms

Landslide

Diarrhoea outbreak

Drought

Eye infection

Jaundice

Tapeworm

Starvation, high number of children

malnourished, migration

Hundreds of cattle were died

Destroyed crops, starvation, children




10 persons died in Lanchi of Ghodasain

108 persons died in Lanchi of Ghodasain

Destroyed irrigated land

7 person died and destroyed irrigated land


Almost village people effected

8 individual died in Lanchi




Settlement displaced

Disturb routine work for long period of time,

spoilt eye of some persons

Disturb routine work for long period of time,

physically weak

54 household displaced, cultivated

land destroyed

Effected village people

Starvation, high number of

children malnourished, migration

Disturb routine work for long period

of time, spoilt eye of some persons



Kandamul eaten, sold silver and gold

Consulted traditional healers

Parma, wage labour, labour migration to India

Parma, wage labour, labour migration

to India, Dharma Bhakari established

Men as labour were migrated to Bombay for work

Consulted traditional healers

Report done to DHO and treatment and

isolation suggestion was given

Resettlement in Painyasain of ward No. 9

Labour migration to Bombay

Some people were went up their pasture farm huts

Coordination with DHO


Consult with health institutions


Consult with DAO






2009

2019

2022

2028

2029

2036

2040

2041

2043

2045

2050

2064 to

date

227

ANNEXES

228


year Major events related with cc effect/impact community response

ANNEX- II Time trend of Danabari, Ilam since 1950

• Fear of Tiger

• Big rainfall (2011

• Malaria seen)

• Heavy rainfall (2025)

during Dashain( a famous festivle)

• No major events

• More than 1000 Akkad forest

deforestation for tea state



• Heavy rain fall (2066 and 2067)

• Increase deforestation

• Increased unknown headache

• Increased malaria cases

• Died 3 person by flooding

• Malaria seen with human body

• More than 30 Bigaha land and 15/16

house damaged by flooding

• Started Chilimkot Tea state

• Disappear a 5 size butterfly, different

herbal plants and boards

• Damaged more than 100 Bigaha

land and 40 houses including a

primary school

• Damaged more than 50 Bigaha land

• More than 1500 Bigaha land damaged

• 3 person died by flooding

• Mental illness increased

• Malaria disease count as a top

ten diseases

• Increasing size of rivers

• Increasing diseases of agriculture

(Banana, Rice, oil, vegetable)

• Decreasing production capacity of land

• Increasing miscarriage of lives took

• Herbal medicine used for malaria cases

• Local resource generated and

support provided

• Deforestation and people shift in this place

• Shift in safe place

• Started some Gabion work at some

damaged areas

• Support request with government

• Received some welfare package from

government and District red cross society

• Started planned Gabion work at

some damaged area

• Decreasing banana farming

2007 to 2016

2017 to 2027

2028 to 2036

2037 to 2047

2048 to 2058

2059 to 2067 till

229


general

ghodasain vdc of achham

livelihoods:

health

Forestry and Biodiversity:

Water Sources

land

ghodasain vdc of achham

ANNEX- IIIClimate change effects in different sectors

• Ilam district is a hill district

• Danabari VDC is located in Chure Range

• 11 rivers/streams are in Danabari VDC including Mai River (Famous River of east Nepal)

• Temperature average 25o C

• Rainfall 2665 mm Annually

• The road, paddy fields are damaged

• Achham district/Ghodasain VDC represents mid-hill area of Nepal

• Drought, floods and landslide are major risk in the VDCs

• Just stopped heavy rain fall and badly affected maize and paddy which were ready to harvest.

• Decreased Koshe Bali in the VDC

• Productions of crops like maize, wheat and paddy, etc have been decreased than before 20 years.

• Labour migration to India has been increased than earlier (before 20 years)

• Increased Khoret diseases in animal

• Heavily cut up of animal husbandry in the VDCs than earlier (before 20 years)

• There is increased incidence of fever of unknown origin. There are reported cases of malaria and typhoid

• Mosquito are appeared in recent years in the lower part of VDCs

• Diarrheal, tapeworm, dysentery, malnutrition, eye infection and uterus prolepses are the major health problems in the VDC

• The cases of STD, HIV and AIDS are increasing day by day

• Some plants to be used for medicine in recommendation of traditional healers have been disappearing

• Falcon bird has been disappeared in the jungle of Achham, it was available in the jungle of the VDC before 40/50 years ago

• Decreasing sources of water

• Destroyed water supply system (intake) due to landslide

• unmanaged water supply system in the VDC, taps without water

• Productive irrigated land and rain fed land at risk of land slide

• Productive capacity of land decreasing

• Increasing size of streams and decreasing sources of water

• Productive land is decreasing by flooding

• Productive capacity of land decreasing

• Some plants of economic importance ( Satisal, simal, Chanp, khayar, Daar, Sadhan etc) have been disappearing

• The HH of ethnic group “Chadara” , who were prehearing wooden vessels are

• A3 size special butterflies are disappeared

• There is increased incidence of fever of unknown origin. There are reported cases of malaria and typhoid and suspected causes of dengue.

• Difficulty to access maternal health services during flood time

• Increased attack of insects (Butterfly, Beruwa, Dadhuwa) and diseases in Banana, Ginger and tiger grass as well etc

• The breeding season of dogs is becoming earlier then 1-2 months.

• Increased incidence of miscarries of abortion of goat. Increase diseases of pigs ( Khorat) .and chicken ( Ranikhet)

• Local cow species of Ilam “ Belayati” are disappearing

230


Annex: IV: Community defined vulnerability assessment criteria

1. Vulnerable wards selection Criteria• Flood,landslideanddroughtaffectedwards• ThewardinwhichpopulationofethnicminoritiesandDAGishigher• Thewardinwhichincidenceofdiarrhoeaisfrequentlyencountered

2. Vulnerable households selection Criteria • Leveloffoodsufficiency(<3monthfoodsufficientfromownproduction)• Climatichazards(flood,landslide,drought,diarrhoea,waterborneandvectorborne

disease) effected households• Femaleheadedhouseholds• Thehouseholdsinwhichdisableandchronicdiseasesaffectedpeopleareliving• Thehouseholdswhichhavenomorelivelihoodsoptions• ConflictaffectedHouseholds

Season/month Status

ANNEX- VSeasonal calendar of LAPA clusters

Past (15/20 years ago)

Current


Current


Current


Current


Current

High temperature

High cold

High incidence of diseases

Heavy rainfall and flooding

Drought

ash

en

kart

ik

Man

gier

push

Mat

h

Falg

un

chai

tra

Bais

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Jest

ha

ash

adh

Shra

wan

Bhad

ra

* *** ** * ** * ** ** * * ** ** * * ** ** * * * ** ** * ** ** * * * ** ***

** ** * ** ** *

Note:*** High ** Medium * Low

231


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en

-mob

iliza

tion

of m

en

for t

he g

rain

grin

ding

wor

k

-In ti

me

care

-Fun

d av

aila

ble

at lo

cal

-Qui

ck re

spon

se

-Life

sav

ing

-Hea

lth F

acili

ty s

ervi

ce

capa

city

will

be

incr

ease

d

-Qui

ck re

spon

se

232


8. 9. 10.

11

Drin

king

wat

er s

uppl

y at

SH

P

Aw

aren

ess

on s

anita

tion,

clim

ate

chan

ge, p

rom

otio

n

of p

reve

ntiv

e be

d ne

t

Live

lihoo

ds s

uppo

rt fo

r mos

t

vuln

erab

le h

ouse

hol

d

Fore

st p

rote

ctio

n an

d

prom

otio

n ac

tiviti

es

-Har

dwar

e co

st

-Ski

lled

labo

ur

-Tim

e an

d m

ater

ials

-Cos

t

-Fun

d

-Tim

e

-See

ds

-Tim

e fo

r pla

ntin

g

-Car

e ta

ker-

-Mor

al s

uppo

rt o

f

com

mun

ity

-Com

mun

ity s

uppo

rt

-Con

flict

bet

wee

n

mos

t vul

nera

ble

and

othe

r vul

nera

ble

-Chi

ld la

bour

incr

ease

-Con

flict

bet

wee

n

com

mun

ity a

nd fo

rest

depe

nden

t peo

ple

-For

est p

rodu

ct

will

be

used

-Ava

ilabi

lity

of s

afe

wat

er

at h

ealth

intu

ition

-Com

mun

icab

le d

isea

ses

will

dec

reas

ed

-Vec

tor b

orn

dise

ases

will

be d

ecre

ased

-CC

aw

aren

ess

will

be

incr

ease

d

-Inco

me

gene

ratio

n

optio

n w

ill b

e in

crea

sed

- Inc

reas

e fo

rest

are

as

-Pos

itive

per

cept

ion

of c

omm

unity

-Hea

lthy

soci

ety

- Sel

f hel

p fo

rum

will

be

deve

lope

d

-uni

ty o

f com

mun

ity -S

anita

tion

will

be

incr

ease

d

-San

itatio

n w

ill b

e

incr

ease

d

-CC

frie

ndly

pra

ctic

e

will

be

prom

otio

n

-For

est d

epen

dent

HH

will

be

decr

ease

d

- Fo

rest

pro

mot

ion

233


Sn 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

11

cost

Bene

fitto

tal

8.5 6 3.5

3.5 6 3.5 3 3.5

2.5 6 6

tota

l

18 15 9.5

9.5

11 7 7 6 6 7 9

B.c

ratio

18/8

.5 =

2.1

15/6

= 2

.5

9.5/

3.5

= 2

.7

9.5/

3.5

= 2

.7

11/6

= 1

.8

7/3.

5 =

2

7/3

=2.

3

6/3.

5 =

1.7

6/2.

5 =

2.4

7/6

= 1

.1

9/6

= 1

.5

rank

ing

5 2 1 1 4 3

A.

RESu

LT O

F CO

NST

BEN

EFIT

AN

ALy

SIS

Econ

omic

cos

t

7 5 3 3 .5 2 2 1.5 2 2 3

Econ

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8 7 5 5 7 4 3 3 4 4 4

Soci

al c

ost

5 4 .5 .5 4 3 4 2 1 1 2

Envt

. cos

t

5 4 4 4 - - - 1 1 2 3

Soci

al c

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1 - - - 1 .5 .5 1 .5 1 1

Envt

. cos

t

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proj

ect

BC ra

tio

Dire

cted

to S

E vu

lner

abili

ty

(ultr

a po

or)

G &

SI

CC V

ulne

rabi

lity

Chi

ldre

n an

d yo

uth

Tota

l

drin

king

wat

er

supp

ly re

nova

tion

2.7

2 3 3.5

4 15.2

(3)

cons

truc

tion

of p

hc/

orc

bui

ldin

g an

d so

me

room

at S

hp

build

ing

2.5

2.5

4 3 3.5

15.5

(2)

inst

alla

tion

of im

prov

ed

Wat

er M

ill (i

WM

)

2.7

2 3.5

3 4 15.2

(3)

awar

enes

s on

san

itatio

n,

clim

ate

chan

ge, p

rom

otio

n

of p

reve

ntiv

e be

d ne

t

2.4

3 2 2.5

2 11.9

(4)

Stoc

k of

med

icin

e

2.3

2 3 2 2 10.3

(5)

live

lihoo

ds s

uppo

rt

for m

ost v

ulne

rabl

e

hous

e ho

ld

1.5

4 3.5

4 3 16 (1)

B.

Mu

LTI C

RITE

RIA

ASS

ESSM

ENT

MAT

RIx

OF

COST

BEN

EFIT

AN

ALy

SIS

234


AN

NEX

- VII

Info

rmat

ion

rela

ted

to b

ound

ary

acto

rs

Boun

dary

act

ors

(key

indi

vidu

als

or

orga

niza

tions

you

wan

t

to in

fluen

ce)

VDC

Beha

viou

ral c

hang

es

(in te

rms

of b

ehav

iour

,

rela

tions

hips

, kn

owle

dge

base

and

acc

ess

to in

fo)

thes

e ar

e ou

tcom

es.

•Thepilotinten

dsto

se

e th

e VD

C u

nder

stan

ding

th

e re

leva

nce

of c

limat

e

ch

ange

to th

e liv

es a

nd

us

ing

the

info

rmat

ion

to

m

ake

prep

are

peop

le fo

r

in

crea

sed

effec

ts o

f CC

an

d m

ake

plan

s fo

r inc

reas

ing

ad

aptiv

e ca

paci

ty, s

tart

ing

w

ith th

e m

ost p

oor a

nd

vu

lner

able

. It w

ill u

se th

e

in

form

atio

n to

voi

ce th

eir

co

ncer

ns a

nd d

eman

ds a

t

di

stric

t lev

el a

nd d

raw

dow

n

fu

nds

and

serv

ices

.

prog

ress

mar

kers

(incr

emen

tal i

ndic

ator

s

of c

hang

e in

beh

avio

ur

of b

ound

ary

acto

rs in

term

s of

‘exp

ect t

o se

e’

(2-3

), ‘l

ike

to s

ee’ (

5-7)

,

‘lov

e to

see

’ (2-

3)

expe

ct to

see

the

com

mun

ity:

•Orgaizedorientation

pr

ogra

m o

n cl

imat

e ch

ange

eff

ects

on

hum

an h

ealth

an

d LA

PA p

ilotin

g

•VD

Crepresen

tativeare

in

form

ed a

bout

ong

oing

L

APA

pilo

ting

proc

ess,

an

d ac

tiviti

es

• St

reng

then

ed c

oord

inat

ion

be

twee

n VD

C a

nd H

FMC

like

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

Pa

rtic

ipat

ion

on C

C/

LAPA

or

ient

atio

n to

HFM

C

•Involvem

entinclim

atechange

vu

lner

able

war

ds s

elec

tion

love

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Co

mmitm

enttoim

plem

ent

LA

PA

•Eage

rtoplanand

allocate

re

sour

ces

for a

ddre

ssin

g

cl

imat

e ch

ange

indu

ced

di

sast

ers

and

heal

th is

sues

in

th

e VD

C

role

of p

roje

ct in

influ

enci

ng c

hang

e an

d

oth

er fa

ctor

s th

at

influ

ence

d ch

ange

•Fa

cilit

atio

n an

d

fo

llow

-up/

M&E

•Co

ordinatio

n

evid

ence

of c

hang

e (M

ov)

•Minutesm

aintaine

d

du

ring

the

prog

ram

•Movem

entp

lanand

re

port

s m

ade

by D

PC/

BN

MT

•Respon

sem

adeby

VD

C re

pres

enta

tives

and

po

litic

al p

artie

s

tool

s

•Interactionandob

servation

235


Mot

hers

Gro

ups

CFu

G

The

pilo

t int

ends

to s

ee th

e

mot

her g

roup

s un

ders

tand

ing

the

rele

vanc

e of

clim

ate

chan

ge to

thei

r liv

es a

nd u

sing

the

info

rmat

ion

to b

e ac

tive

in th

eir

grou

ps a

nd p

lay

role

for i

ncre

asin

g

adap

tive

capa

city

The

pilo

t int

ends

to s

ee th

e

com

mun

ity u

nder

stan

ding

the

rele

vanc

e of

clim

ate

chan

ge to

thei

r liv

es a

nd u

sing

the

info

rmat

ion

to p

repa

re fo

r

incr

ease

d eff

ects

of C

C a

nd m

ake

plan

s fo

r inc

reas

ing

adap

tive

capa

city

, sta

rtin

g w

ith th

e m

ost

poor

and

vul

nera

ble.

They

will

use

the

info

rmat

ion

to

voic

e th

eir c

once

rns

and

dem

ands

at V

DC

and

dis

tric

t

leve

l, an

d dr

aw d

own

fund

s an

d

serv

ices

.

exp

ect t

o se

e th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Existinthevulnerab

lewards

Like

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Activemothe

rsto

com

bat

th

eir b

abie

s fro

m C

C e

ffect

s

love

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Represen

tatio

nand

pa

rtic

ipat

ion

of v

ulne

rabl

e

ho

useh

olds

in th

e gr

oups

•Wellparticipationofth

e

gr

oups

in P

HC

/ORC

and

EPI

cl

inic

s in

the

war

ds o

r nea

rby

th

eir h

ouse

hold

s

expe

ct to

see

the

com

mun

ity:

•Participationon

CC/LAPA

or

ient

atio

n to

HFM

C

like

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Involvem

entinclim

ate

ch

ange

vul

nera

ble

war

ds

se

lect

ion

love

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

Eage

r to

plan

and

allo

cate

reso

urce

s fo

r add

ress

ing

clim

ate

chan

ge in

duce

d di

sast

ers

and

heal

th is

sues

in th

e VD

C

•Mothe

rorganized

in

a

grou

p an

d st

art s

avin

g

an

d cr

edit

activ

ities

•Awareon

localhealth

pr

oble

ms

and

dise

ases

•Theirm

eetin

gminute

•In

tere

sted

to b

e

in

volv

ed in

LA

PA p

roce

ss

•Interactionandob

servation

•Interactionandob

servation

•C

oordination

•C

oordination

236


Wat

er u

sers

Gro

ups

(the

com

mun

ity)

The

pilo

t int

ends

to s

ee th

e

com

mun

ity u

nder

stan

ding

the

rele

vanc

e of

clim

ate

chan

ge to

thei

r liv

es a

nd u

sing

the

info

rmat

ion

to p

repa

re fo

r

incr

ease

d eff

ects

of C

C a

nd m

ake

plan

s fo

r inc

reas

ing

adap

tive

capa

city

, sta

rtin

g w

ith th

e m

ost

poor

and

vul

nera

ble.

They

will

use

the

info

rmat

ion

to

voic

e th

eir c

once

rns

and

dem

ands

at V

DC

and

dis

tric

t

leve

l, an

d dr

aw d

own

fund

s an

d

serv

ices

.

expe

ct to

see

the

com

mun

ity:

•Chang

ingtheir

pe

rcep

tion

of th

e eff

ects

of C

C

th

ey s

ee a

roun

d th

em

(a

ccep

ting

it w

on’t

‘go

back

to

no

rmal

’)

•Lookingatexisting

ac

tiviti

es th

roug

h CC

lens

and

am

endi

ng s

ome

prac

tices

/

ac

tiviti

es

•Iden

tifying

themostp

oor

an

d cl

imat

e vu

lner

able

like

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Ca

rrying

outactivities

th

at in

crea

se a

dapt

ive

ca

paci

ty[In

crea

sing

live

lihoo

d

op

tions

(veg

etab

le, fi

sh

fa

rmin

g), P

rote

ctin

g w

ater

so

urce

s, M

akin

g re

char

ge

po

nds,

usi

ng a

ltern

ativ

e

en

ergy

, usi

ng w

ater

car

eful

ly,

Re

cycl

ing

was

te w

ater

]

•Incorporatingthese

ac

tiviti

es in

to th

eir a

ctio

n pl

ans

•Lettingthepo

orand

vu

lner

able

kno

w th

ey h

ave

rig

hts

to a

cces

s fu

nds/

supp

ort

fro

m V

DC

•Taking

plansto

VDC

as

sem

bly

•Interested

tobe

in

volv

ed in

LA

PA p

roce

ss

•Interactionandob

servation

•C

oordination

237


NG

Os

in th

e VD

Cs

The

pilo

t int

ends

to s

ee th

e

NG

Os

in th

e VD

Cs

unde

rsta

ndin

g th

e re

leva

nce

of

clim

ate

chan

ge to

thei

r liv

es a

nd

wor

k fo

r inc

reas

ing

adap

tive

capa

city

of v

ulne

rabl

e pe

ople

and

com

mun

ities

.

•Using

plansto

access

di

stric

t lev

el re

sour

ces/

serv

ices

•Creatingan

en

viro

nmen

t for

the

poor

and

vu

lner

able

to e

xpre

ss th

eir

ne

eds

and

clai

m/r

ecei

ve

su

ppor

t

•Registeringtheir

co

mm

unity

wat

er re

sour

ces

w

ith th

e D

DC

love

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Usin

gtheirexperiencewith

CC

an

d w

ater

/WA

SH in

oth

er

as

pect

s of

thei

r liv

es/

liv

elih

oods

exp

ect t

o se

e th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Participationon

CC/LAPA

or

ient

atio

n to

HFM

C

like

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Involvem

entinclim

ate

ch

ange

vul

nera

ble

war

ds

se

lect

ion

love

to s

ee th

e co

mm

unity

:

•Eage

rtoplanand

allocate

re

sour

ces

for a

ddre

ssin

g

cl

imat

e ch

ange

indu

ced

di

sast

ers

and

heal

th is

sues

in

th

e VD

C

•Interested

tobe

in

volv

ed in

LA

PA p

roce

ss

•Interactionandob

servation

•C

oordination

238


AN

NEX

- VIII

Loca

l Ada

ptat

ion

Plan

of A

ctio

n of

Dan

abar

i VD

C, Il

am

S.n

.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

activ

ity

Add

2/3

room

at fi

rst F

loor

of S

HP

Expa

nsio

n of

Del

iver

y

Serv

ices

To m

anag

e re

serv

e m

edic

ine

for r

aini

ng/fl

oodi

ng s

easo

n

Man

age

supp

ly o

f reg

ular

drin

king

wat

er a

t SH

P

Aw

aren

ess

rais

ing

on

envi

ronm

enta

l sa

nita

tion,

clim

ate

chan

ge a

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ecto

r

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ease

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alar

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litis

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itutio

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rovi

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afe

drin

king

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er to

pat

ient

s an

d

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prov

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nita

tion

of S

HP

To s

afe

min

imiz

e

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mun

icab

le d

isea

ses

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aria

To a

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ss a

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inim

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C v

ulne

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242


243

Developing Climate Change aDaptive CapaCity through WaSh initiativeS anD loCal planning proCeSSeS


Submitted byNepal Water for Health and Sanitation(NEWAH)

February, 2011

Developing Climate Change adaptive Capacity through WaSh initiatives and local planning processes

NEWAH LAPA Pilot Team Members

1. Mr. Umesh Pandey, Director, NEWAH

2. Mr. Himalaya Panthi, Social Development Manager, NEWAH HQ

3. Mr. Ratan Budhathoki, Knowledge Management and Advocacy Manager, NEWAH HQ

4. Mr. Santosh Basnet, Technical Development Manager, NEWAH HQ

5. Mr. Krishna Mani Adhikari, Finance Manager, NEWAH HQ

6. Mr. Kumar Silwal, Regional Manager, NEWAH ERO

7. Mr. Umakant Phuyal, Project Supervisor, NEWAH ERO

8. Mr. Mahesh Adhikari, Socio Technician, NEWAH ERO

9. Ms. Hema Samal, Senior Health and Sanitation facilitator , NEWAH ERO

10. Ms. Nimala Rai, Health and Sanitation Facilitator, Jalpa Yuba Club, Udayapur

The climate Adaptation Design Project Nepal (CADP-N) provided an opportunity to Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) to contribute to the design of a local climate adaptation planning process through sharing learning from piloting climate change adaptive capacity development through Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives and process. The pilot took place during the period of September to December 2010 in Guranse village of Rauta Village Development Committee of Udayapur District in the Eastern Development Region of Nepal. This report is a product of the pilot process and hereby presents key findings, analysis and recommendations for the design and implementation of Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs).

The pilot aimed to contribute to the CADP-N by exploring options for mainstreaming climate change and climate adaptation through community planning into VDC and district planning processes to increase the adaptive capacity of the poor and climate vulnerable. Learning outputs at community level included the use of tools and approaches for identifying households and communities that are vulnerable to climate change; identifying and prioritising climate response options; facilitating community planning processes and building local capacity to reach up and draw down resources. At VDC and district level the pilot team worked to raise awareness and strengthen capacity to respond to adaptation priorities from community level. NEWAH also draws on its experience of scaling-out and scaling-up in consideration of NGOs as long–term service providers for increasing adaptive capacity.

In the pilot, climate awareness raising took place at every level, from NEWAH regional and field staff to district decision-makers, to VDC and community level as an essential first step. This was followed by participatory exercises to look at local climate trends and assess climate impacts. Communities identified physical and social vulnerability and assessed responses and response capacity. The detailed adaptation capacity development work was carried out in the Guranse village of 94 households who are all members of the NEWAH supported Water and Sanitation users committee. In addition it was important to involve local community based groups, VDC council members, political party representatives, government officials, NGOs, youth clubs and the media to increase awareness and consider adaptation measures that could be carried out locally or with outside support. Means to integrate community adaptation priorities into the local planning processes were explored. At the end of the process the community’s draft adaptation plans were presented by a group of 16 people to first VDC level and then district level decision-makers, with requests to support elements of the plan and incorporate them into the district planning process. Decision-makers appreciated hearing directly the voices of community delegates and pledged support.

A range of participatory tools were found to be effective in the process of raising awareness, prioritising, planning, monitoring and building capacity. This pilot made effective use of vulnerability mapping, vulnerability assessment, timelines, seasonal calendars, cause and effect matrix, self-monitoring, gateway service analysis, cost effectiveness analysis and focus group discussions. Some tools were modified for climate change, others could be used directly in the local climate change context, and some were new. It was effective to use tools

ExECUTIVE SUMMARy

245

246


that participants were familiar with at community or VDC level and modify them to incorporate climate change and build adaptive capacity. The key point is whether the tools are used in a participatory way and whether ownership is with the participants. Tools need to empower communities, NGOs and local government to take on every step of developing resilient communities whilst building foremost the adaptive capacity of the most poor and vulnerable.

From this pilot it is clear that communities are keen to understand climate change and ready to strengthen their responsive capacity towards addressing climate induced hazards and risks. They need continuous support in terms of access to relevant information, capacity to prepare and plan for immediate and longterm climate change effects, and capacity to effectively access services and resources. Establishing an effective coordination process at district, VDC and community level is essential for creating an enabling environment.

Institutional mechanisms appropriate for implementing LAPAs vary at different scales. At the local scale LAPAs developed by communities are best implemented in partnership with community-based organizations and local NGOs with coordination by Village Development Committees. NGOs can play essential roles in awareness raising, capacity building, technical support and process facilitation at community level and VDC level during plan development and implementation. Local government is crucial in coordinating programmes that enhance adaptive capacity and overseeing the flow of funds from the public and private sectors to ensure they reach vulnerable communities. National government and donor roles include creating an enabling policy environment to mainstream the process.

Appropriate financial mechanisms will vary with the socio-political situation of the country. Should the DDC and VDC have integrity and skilled human resources, funding is best channelled through local government. An alternative mechanism can be a coalition of agencies consisting of the DDC, VDC, NGOs and CBOs with clear roles. In line with the NAPA stipulation that 80% of funding goes to communities, an option for allocating the country’s total climate change adaptation fund to the local level is suggested as follows: The Government sector to manage 70% with 56% reaching the community (14% for management and overheads) and the NGO sector to manage 30% with 24% reaching community level. Cooperatives and other community owned enterprises should be supported to provide sustainable local financing. Particular provision needs to be made for the poor and most vulnerable. Consideration should be given to roles of both not-for-profit and for-profit private sector players. Public private partnerships should be considered in the absence of adaptation funding. Local governance is key for both institutional and financial delivery mechanisms for LAPA.

The time is right to roll out LAPA because people are keen to understand how their experience of increasingly unpredictable local weather links to global climate change, and they are keen build resilience to immediate and long-term climate induced hazards. The decision-makers at VDC and District level are also keen to address climate change issues and support the building of adaptive capacity. There is a need for continuous effort to integrate community level adaptation plans into the development plans of VDC, DDC, Line Agencies and NGOs. The climate change related interventions can really serve the needs of the most poor and vulnerable when undertaken through coordinated planning with the collaboration of communities, local governmental and non-governmental organisations and with the support of a central government that encourages adaptive capacity development.

247


NEWAH is ready to build on the pilot and take forward the work of building local adaptive capacity and mainstreaming climate change into local planning. At community level it would work towards the development of adaptation plans at the micro-catchment scale that includes every household. This would involve awareness raising, vulnerability mapping, adaptation monitoring, building capacity to reach up and draw down resources and access services and regularly revising plans in response to feedback and changing local conditions. It would work to strengthen the VDC and district structures that support bottom-up adaptation planning. It would also play an advocacy role to mobilise the WASH sector to address climate change, and it would encourage policy and funding mechanisms that facilitate LAPA development.

248


249

NEWAH is grateful to the CADP-N and the entire team of experts who have provided this opportunity for NEWAH to take part in the LAPA pilot process and contribute its experience and learning to the LAPA design.

NEWAH would like to appreciate the guidance and support received from Dr. Deepak Rijal, Ms. Basna Sapkota, Mr. Bimal Regmi and Mr. Gyanendra Karki while designing and implementing this project, and all the support received in terms of communication and orientation to the NEWAH pilot team members.

NEWAH is also grateful to Ms. Sibongile Pradhan for her kind professional support received during planning, design, orientation, VDC level workshop and community level orientation and capacity building processes. Her professional support to the NEWAH piloting team to develop this report has been commendable.

Similarly, NEWAH is thankful to all the community members of Guranse Village, all the representatives of Rauta VDC decision-makers, political party representatives, VDC officials, LDO of Udayapur DDC, FEDWASUN, journalists, Local NGO partners and all the participants who have contributed to the process. The contribution of NEWAH Pilot team, Eastern regional office and field staff is greatly appreciated in the delivery of these outputs. -

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

250


251



table of contents 251

1. introduction 253

2. methodology 255 2.1 Geographic and socioeconomic overview of the pilot area 255 2.2 Approach and tools 256 2.2.1 Planning the pilot 256 2.2.2 Identifying boundary actors 256 2.2.3 Raising awareness 257 2.2.4 Assessing vulnerability 257 2.2.5 Facilitating the preparation of adaptation plans 258 2.2.6 Building capacity to access resources and support 258

3. outputs / Findings and Analysis 260 3.1 Outputs 260

3.2 Outcomes in terms of behavioural changes in boundary actors 260 3.3 Household vulnerability 261

3.4 Interventions that increase adaptive capacity 262 3.5 Community adaptation plans 262 3.6 The LAPA development process 262 3.7 Increasing awareness of climate change and adaptation 263 3.8 Including the priorities of the most vulnerable in planning adaptive capacity development 263 3.9 Assessing vulnerability 263 3.10 Prioritisation of options that increase people’s ability to survive, cope and adapt 264 3.11 Including climate foresight into local decision making processes 264 3.12 The use and modification of participatory tools 265 3.13 Service delivery mechanisms 266

3.14 Finance delivery mechanisms 267 3.15 Building capacity to reach up and draw down resources to implement locally

identified priorities 267 3.16 Findings regarding the role of district level federations 268 3.17 Findings regarding the Water Use Master plan (WUMP) 268 3.18 Learning and recommendations regarding scaling-up community adaptation plans to the VDC level 269 3.19 Learning and recommendations regarding scaling up to district level and ensuring coordinated planning 269

TABLE OF CONTENTS

252


3.20 Monitoring and evaluating changes in adaptive capacity so as to ensure adaptation planning is reducing vulnerability to climate change 270 3.21 Ensuring M&E is integral to planning, with effective feed-back loops 271 3.22 Mainstreaming WASH into VDC and then DDC planning processes 272 3.23 Barriers and risks to developing and implementing LAPAs 272 3.24 Learning from NEWAH’s experience of scaling-out and scaling-up NGOs as long–term service providers for increasing adaptive capacity (objective 3) 274 3.24.1 Lessons regarding geographic expansion 274 3.24.2 Lessons regarding programme expansion 274 3.24.3 Lessons on expansion with regard to increasing influence in the WASH sector. 274 3.24.4 Lessons regarding how government, other NGOs and the WASH sector have learnt from NEWAH’s experience of scaling up/out 275

4. Conclusion: taking LAPA Forward 276 4.1 Proposed LAPA development for Rauta VDC and Udayapur district 276 4.2 National LAPA design based on experience of the WASH sector 277 4.2.1 LAPA Development Process 280 4.2.2 Planning and Capacity building process 281

5. Annexes Annex- I : Analysis of climate change hazard impact and adaptation strategies. Prepared visually with a force field analysis, 282Annex- II : descriptors of adaptive capacity identified in the field 283Annex III : Prioritisation of adaptation actions 284Annex IV : Verification of expected outputs 285Annex V : Outcomes in terms of behavioural changes of key boundary actors. 287Annex-VI : The climate change adaptation action plan presented at the VDC and DDC level sharing meetings 290Annex-VII : Assessment of programmes outcomes and whether they increase adaptive capacity 291Annex-VIII : Tools used and how they build adaptive capacity 292Annex-Ix : Modification of planning and monitoring tools 293

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The purpose of this pilot was to contribute to the Climate Adaptation and Design Project Nepal led LAPA development by mainstreaming climate adaptation through community and Village Development Committee (VDC) planning processes through the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.

Nepal is highly vulnerable to the uncertainties of climate change. Water supply and sanitation is an effective entry point for adaptation planning as it addresses the key element of adaptive capacity - health. That in turn has implications for other aspects such as food production, income generation, education and employment. People can immediately relate to the vulnerability of a drinking water supply system and the need to protect it from climate change effects and consider alternatives.

Climate change as a threat to achieving development goals is highly visible in the WASH sector. Drinking water supply systems can be destroyed by floods and landslides or rendered useless by soil moisture depletion and drying springs. It is a clear entry point for communities understanding both the importance of climate-proofing existing services and plans, and building resilience through participatory adaptation planning.

Piloting ways to provide services to increase adaptive capacity and mainstream climate change through local planning processes is essential for Nepal to find a means of increasing the climate resilience of the most poor and vulnerable members of society. The pilot carried out by NEWAH was designed to find ways of doing this within the WASH sector. It was prepared with the following objectives:• MainstreamingclimatechangeintoVDCplanningthroughWASHinterventions

and processes to increase the adaptive capacity of the poor and climate vulnerable, building on NEWAH’s experience of mainstreaming gender and social inclusion both within the organization and WASH sector.

• Testingtoolsandtechniquesforidentifyinghouseholdsandcommunitiesthatare vulnerable to climate change.

• LearningfromNEWAH’sexperienceofscaling-outandscaling-upNGOsaslong–term service providers for increasing adaptive capacity.

Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH)

Established in 1992, Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) is a national level non-governmental organization (NGO) that specializes in drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). It works actively in partnership with local NGOs, CBOs and other

INTRODUCTION

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sectors to help deprived, poor and socially excluded communities secure basic services of water and sanitation, strengthening the capacity of these partners to undertake further development activities and to raise their voices to influence policy-makers, ensuring access of these services to all in the greatest need. Communities receive financial, technical and capacity-building support, and so far NEWAH has worked in 51 districts serving over one million people (estimated to be 4% of the national population), through 1,153 WASH projects working in partnership with 465 local partners.

NEWAH is committed to improving the quality of life of Nepali people by contributing towards the provision of safe water, health and sanitation services to those in greatest need. Its goal is the improved living standards of Nepali people in greatest need through equitable and sustainable access to safe water, health and sanitation services. Its purpose is to ensure equitable and sustainable access of Nepali people in the greatest need to safe water, health and sanitation services, complemented with livelihood opportunities through effective empowering processes.

NEWAH’s objective is to bring substantial positive changes in the lives of Nepali people in the greatest need (poor, marginalised, remote, conflict affected or in crisis) by: • Providingtechnicalandfinancialsupportinwater,healthandsanitationactivities/services

directly or through other non profit making agencies (NGOs, CBOs, other development partners).

• Developingcapacityoftheindividualandinstitutionsinthesectortomanagewater,health and sanitation programmes.

• Engaginginresearchandstudiestoenhancesectoralknowledgebaseandinvolvinginresearch based deliberations and advocacy for policy reforms.

• Collaboratingwithotheragenciestoleveragesupportforequitableandsustainableaccess to safe water, health and sanitation services.

• Supportingthestate’spoliciesandotherstakeholders’programstoincreaseequitableandsustainable access to safe water, health and sanitation services.

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According to the NAPA document (2010 p.59) Udayapur district is ranked as one of the very high risk (0.787 - 1.000) districts from a landslide vulnerability perspective. According to the outcomes of the VDC level climate hazard and risk mapping exercise, Rauta VDC is climate vulnerable with a risk of water source depletion, floods, landslides and drought, as presented in the table below.

The socioeconomic condition of the VDC is poor. Most of the people living in this area are dependent on subsistence agriculture. The main crops are rice, maize, millet, wheat and barley. It is common for people to go outside their village to search for work. Some people go to the local market, Murkuchi Bazaar, for daily

METHODOLOGy

Air temperature (0 C) Precipitation (mm) Rainy days

mean Absolute extreme

Max. Min. Daily Max. & Date Min. & Date TotalMax. in 24 hrs. & Date

1:00

30.7 18.9 24.8 37.2/Jun 8.1/ Jan 1907 165/Apr 103

Source: DoHM (2007)

Hazard Areas (ward no.)

Water source depletion 1, 2 ,4 ,5 & 9

Flood 5 & 9

Landslide 5 & 9

Fire 2,3,4,5,7 & 9

Drought 1 & 9

2.1 Geographic and socioeconomic overview of the pilot area

The pilot area is the Rauta VDC of Udayapur district in the Eastern Development Region of Nepal. It is situated about 35 kilometres north-west of Udayapur district headquarters Gadhi, which is situated 26056’ N and 86031’ E . The total area of the district is 2,063 Sq. km and elevation ranges between 360m – 2,310m. According to the Department of Survey, the district consists geographically of Mid Mountain (87394 Ha), Siwalik hills (108,627 Ha) and Terai plains (7,148 Ha). Air temperature and precipitation information is given in the table below.

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wages and some people go to the district headquarters, Gadhi, and a few people go abroad for employment. The local migration is seasonal and outside the country it is commonly for two or three years. This effects the vulnerability of households and communities to climate change effects in both positive and negative ways.

Most of the residents of the Rauta area are Janajati, Chhetr and Dalit ethnic/social groups. Rauta VDC is a development deficit location with respect to access to basic services such as drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, health provision, agricultural support, road and transportation, secondary education, electricity, communication and mills. Regarding access to natural resources such as irrigation water and forests, people have some access but it is often not equitable or sufficient. The people may be members of irrigation user committees and community forest user groups which belong to different wards or VDCs. People in the pilot area generally were unaware of the basic services that could be provided by various line agencies or how to access them.

NEWAH works in close coordination with the DDC and VDC. Rauta VDC was identified by the DDC as one of the VDCs least covered by government or NGO support, and for that reason was proposed by the DDC to NEWAH for WASH service development. NEWAH has been supporting the VDC for the last two years with implementation of drinking water supply, sanitation and hygiene programmes, through an approach of VDC-wide coverage. Project activities are carried out in line with the Water Use Master Plan (WUMP) prepared jointly by NEWAH and the VDC. Due to time constraints the pilot focused at community level on the village of Garanse (ward 9).

2.2 Approach and tools

The following process and tools were used during the piloting.

2.2.1 Planning the pilotPreparation of detailed action plans at NEWAH Regional Office, district level, VDC level and community level was accomplished with facilitation support from CADP-N. The necessary coordination and communication was maintained between NEWAH piloting team, NEWAH Eastern Regional Office and then the district and VDC level through the regional office, in order to engage the key boundary actors and develop a common understanding of objectives and create a sense of ownership of the process.

2.2.2 Identifying boundary actors Boundary actors (or stakeholders) were identified at three levels by the community (through a Venn diagram exercise) and by NEWAH field staff (based on their experience).

At community level the boundary actors were members of the water and sanitation users committee (WSUC) and child club members (every household in the community was a member). They were involved in the process of climate sensitisation and awareness, vulnerability assessment, identification of poor and vulnerable households and water sources, visioning, determining indicators and preparing the climate adaptation plans.

At VDC level the boundary actors were the political party representatives, VDC staff, teachers of the Higher Secondary School, Sub health-post in-charge, representatives of forestry user groups, representatives of local NGOs and ex-VDC representatives. They were involved during the awareness and sensitisation process, gateway services analysis, timelines and VDC level vulnerability mapping. The output of the community level adaptation plan was presented to them at a special VDC level meeting and their commitment was requested for inclusion of the climate adaptive action plan into the VDC level planning process.

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at District level the boundary actors were the DDC Local Development Officer, the district engineer of the energy and environment sector of the DDC, the district water supply officer, representatives of all political parties, user federations and other district level agencies such as the district forestry office, district irrigation office, district cooperative office, journalists and Constitutional Assembly members. They participated in the climate change sensitisation workshop held at the DDC in September 2010 and in the output presentation workshop in November 2010. The district Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users Network Nepal (FEDWASUN) coordinated with the DDC and facilitated the DDC level meetings. This was an opportunity for them to engage with climate change issues and explore advocacy roles for integrating adaptation into WASH and other sectors.

2.2.3 Raising awareness Sensitisation to climate change issues took place through the organization of climate change awareness workshops for NEWAH regional level staff, district level boundary actors, VDC level boundary actors and the community of Garanse. Formal invitations were circulated at district level and VDC level through NEWAH regional office for the orientation and sensitisation process. Use was made of graphs, diagrams, photos, video, reflection exercises and discussion.

At the workshops at VDC and community level participants were invited to reflect with a pictorial timeline on events that had occurred in their locality over the past thirty years, in relation to hazards and risks that affected the life and livelihoods of local elderly, adults, youth, men, women, poor, vulnerable, and disabled. A mapping exercise that included the identification of hazards and vulnerable areas, moved the discussion on to current and future vulnerability and the unpredictable nature of climate change effects. The discussion

that resulted from use of the participatory climate hazard trend analysis focussed on trends in water availability and effects on the poor, excluded and climate vulnerable. During the exercise the participants were divided into groups and at VDC level the following table was used.

At Community level, an analysis of climate change hazard impacts and adaptation strategies was carried out with newsprint paper and coloured marker pens. The paper was hung on the wall with the year, events, effects and responses drawn in pictorial form for clarity and inclusion. A force field diagram was prepared with them based on the information below. See annex 1 for details.

year type of hazard event

effect on human life

Response for dealing with this

Any external support

2.2.4 Assessing vulnerability An assessment of the vulnerability of the households of Guranse village was conducted by revisiting NEWAH’s mechanism for identifying the poor and excluded (well-being ranking) and assessing how it applied to the poorest and most climate vulnerable. Since NEWAH had already been working in this area, a water and sanitation users committee (WSUC) exists in this village and wellbeing ranking had already taken place. While conducting the vulnerability assessment, the following process was adopted. A social map was prepared showing the water sources, streams, forest, cultivated lands, resident houses, water supply pipelines,

Hazard

Scale of impact or risk of impact (1 (low impact)-5 (high impact))

Response

Scale of response (1- (less effort) to 5 (prompt response))

impact

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reservoir tanks and tap stands. It also highlighted areas of physical vulnerability and households that had socioeconomic vulnerability. The names of each house cluster and water source were written on the map. At the same time the name of each household head was written on a small piece of paper. The participants categorised the vulnerability of each household into three groups - high, medium and low. In doing this process they defined their own criteria (which become indicators) for climate vulnerability, as in section 3.3 below.

The gateway services analysis was a two part tool to both gather people’s perceptions of the importance of various services in increasing adaptive capacity and for them to think about which would be priorities to request or demand from local or district service providers. Participants identified on a Venn diagram services in their locality (both government, NGO and private sector) and recorded whether the service was in practice available to the most poor, medium poor and least poor. They also indicated how physical access impacted them. Cards were then made of all the services identified and participants were asked to place them in 4 areas joined by gateways on a large sheet of paper. They began with core services to meet fundamental needs, then identified which services were most important to take them up to each successive level of higher wellbeing. They then added new cards for services they did not currently have, but thought would

be useful. This tool was tested at VDC and community level.

2.2.5 Facilitating the preparation of adaptation plansThe logical and moral development of the tools above was to turn focused discussion into action plans. Facilitation of the community / WSUC for climate proofing existing plans and preparing a climate adaptation community action plan focused on the 3 areas of: • Vulnerability of existing water sources

and supply • Multiple-use of water and alternative

sources/technology (for example rain water harvesting)

• Increasing livelihood options (linking with saving and credit, vegetable farming, fish farming etc.)

In addition the community envisioned the qualities of a state of high adaptive capacity and these became both targets for planning and indicators of adaptive capacity. See annex2. This could form the basis for self monitoring and evaluation carried out by the community/WSUC.

Based on the community’s new understanding of climate change and consideration of hazards and risks as above, existing water system plans were reviewed and adaptation actions prioritised using the following matrix. See annex3 for complete table. It was followed by a discussion of the multiple options for the use of available water sources.

Hazard Adaptation action

effectiveness (1-3)

Cost effective (1-3)

Feasibility (1-3)

Focussed on target group (1-3)

total score Priority

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2.2.6 Building capacity to access resources and support

The capacity of the community to reach up and draw down resources and to influence decision makers at VDC and District level was enhanced. This included information on funds/services and capacity to communicate with decision makers to integrate the community level climate adaptation plans into VDC and district plans. The capacity building process included the following steps:

i) Men, women and members of child clubs were involved in the timeline, climate change trend analysis, seasonal calendar preparation, and in the process of social mapping, vulnerability assessment and identifying the vulnerable households, areas and water sources.

ii) They participated in the process of climate-proofing the existing water supply systems, identifying further action in response to climate change effects, and prioritising activities.

iii) They assessed which elements of the plans they could carry out themselves and which needed external support. They considered what support might be available from the VDC, DDC, line agencies and NGOs. They assessed their capacity to access this support. NEWAH staff facilitated links with the appropriate organisations.

iv) Members of the water supply and sanitation users committee were involved in the processes of field observation and verification. They guided the revision and clarification of the draft plan, and finalisation of the climate change adaptation plan took place in the presence of all women, men, poor, vulnerable and child club members.

v) With an objective of sharing their climate change adaptation plan and appealing for inclusion in the VDC planning process, the WSUC Chairperson and local partner NGO representatives were facilitated to prepare and distribute an invitation letter to all VDC level decision- makers, from political parties, schools, health post, VDC and other agencies.

vi) A meeting took place at VDC level for the WSUC to present the community level adaptation plan. In attendance where representatives from the VDC, all political parties, the health post, higher secondary school and forest office.

vii) A delegation of 16 people from Guranse went to the DDC and made a presentation to the district level politicians, LDO, district engineers and several district level agencies about the climate change adaptation plan that they had prepared for their community.

OUTPUTS, FINDINGS AND ANALySIS

This WASH sector pilot in Rauta VDC of Udayapur has produced outputs and learning to inform the national development of a LAPA process. The majority of this section describes findings related to objectives one and two; mainstreaming climate change into VDC planning through WASH interventions and processes to increase the adaptive capacity of the poor and climate vulnerable, and testing tools and techniques for identifying households and communities that are vulnerable to climate change. The final part of this section addresses the third objective of learning from NEWAH’s experience of scaling-out and scaling-up NGOs as long–term service providers for increasing adaptive capacity.

3.1 Outputs

Outputs included the identification of climate vulnerable water resources, systems and households, and the identification of qualities of adaptive capacity, needs of poor and vulnerable households and key gateway services. They included increased awareness and understanding of climate change at community, VDC and district level and increased awareness of sanitation, latrine construction and hygiene in relation to climate change effects. They included amendment of community action plans in the light of climate change and steps towards the incorporation of elements of community action plans into VDC and district planning. Existing planning and monitoring tools were modified to include climate change and adaptation, and new tools were tested. The water users federation, FEDWASUN, identified a role with respect to climate change that included representing the voices of the climate vulnerable and helping mainstream climate change adaptation into district planning. The role of the Water Use Master Plan (WUMP) and VDC profiles in climate adaptation was explored. Recommendations of how to scale out adaptation and WASH interventions are made in the final section of this report. See Annex 4 for table of outputs.

3.2 Outcomes in terms of behavioural changes in boundary actors

As part of the pilot M&E framework NEWAH developed a table of behavioural changes that it would expect to, like to and love to see take place in key partners over the long term if the processes set in place during the pilot phase were to continue. The complete table is in Annex 5 and a summary of changes seen during the pilot period is in the box below.

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3.3 Household vulnerability

The needs of the most poor and vulnerable with regard to increasing adaptive capacity were identified. The most vulnerable in the pilot community were those living near a landslide. Their immediate needs were for alternative sites to rebuild their home or support to move their house to other land they had. Landslides also presented a hazard to rainfed land (which required both preventative and protection measures) and to drinking water sources and pipelines (requiring protection). The drying of sources

was a major hazard to the whole community, requiring protection of alternative water sources. There was a risk of flood damage to some households who had paddy land. Disease was seen as a hazard exacerbated by climate change effects and families with disabled members were seen as highly vulnerable.

The community categorised all households into high, medium and low vulnerability. The criteria identified by the community whilst doing this became some of their indicators of adaptive capacity, and are listed in the box below.

Boundary actors Outcomes: Behavioural changes (in terms of behaviour, relationships, knowledge base and access to info) found

Water Users Groups (the community) The community members have developed an understanding of the impacts of climate change on their lives and are using the information to prepare for possible future effects of climate change and make plans for increasing adaptive capacity, starting with the most poor and vulnerable. They have started to use the information to voice their concerns and demands at VDC and district level and are trying to draw down funds and services.

The most poor and climate vulnerable people (PCV)

Some of the PCV understand the implications and risks of climate change and are involved in planning and monitoring processes, to ensure their voices are heard and their adaptation needs identified and included in planning and budget allocation.

VDC members The political leaders at VDC level have listened to and been influenced by the presentation of the community adaptation plan. They responded with a written commitment to support the plan using their new understanding of climate adaptation to work impartially and equitably towards increasing the adaptive capacity of inhabitants of the VDC, particularly the most poor and climate vulnerable, and represent their needs in district planning processes.

District decision makers The district level decision makers have enhanced understanding of climate change and the importance of climate adaptation to their work. Their verbal commitment has been received in the presence of Constitutional Assembly member Ms. Durga Pariyar to make planning and budget decisions that increase the adaptive capacity of people of Udayapur, particularly the most poor and climate vulnerable as per available resources and capacity. They are positive about working collaboratively to bring climate change awareness and the needs of the PCV into district planning processes.

High Vulnerability medium Vulnerability Low Vulnerability

House is near the landslide area,

Risk of flood in rainy season,

House is alone and no easy access to trail,

Poor economic status, low employment options,

Members of family are disabled

House is near jungle and may be at risk of fire.

No high risk of landslide and flood,

Less risk of fire,

Family member has job opportunity outside the country,

Alternative options to move from the existing place,

The household has land to shift the house if necessary.

Better economic status, including business and remittance from India and Arab countries,

Have a house in the local market town,

Their house and land are in a safe location,

The community do not see any risk of land slide, flood or fire.

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3.4 Interventions that increase adaptive capacity

Interventions that increased adaptive capacity were any that increased the health, wealth or awareness of community members. All the interventions, both activities and processes, initiated by NEWAH were found to increase adaptive capacity (see Annex 7 for details). Climate-proofing NEWAH interventions is essential, as for example in the proposed protection of the source and pipeline of the existing water supply system and irrigation canal. Water mills that are safe from climactic hazards were found to be a priority intervention for the community. They reduce women’s workloads, and that is significant in increasing overall adaptive capacity of the household. It is important to ensure the interventions increase adaptive capacity equitably.

3.5 Community adaptation plan

The climate adaptation action plan prepared by the community and presented at the VDC and DDC level sharing meetings included the activities in the box below. See Annex 6 for details.

3.6 The LAPA development process

Four key steps were found to be effective: First of all, make people aware that climate change is taking place globally and it affects human lives in various ways. Engage local people in reflecting on past events related to climate change and identify the current climatic hazards that directly present a risk to day-to-day life, water, livestock, agriculture, forest and livelihoods in their local context. Secondly, facilitate communities to carry out inventories of climate change hazards, risks and their impacts, and assess their existing capacity to adapt and make plans climate proof. Thirdly, identify the households and infrastructure that is vulnerable now and likely to be in the future. Do visioning to develop long-term goals for the community’s adaptive capacity development and indicators. Prepare climate adaptation action plans at community level and assess what can be done locally and what needs external support. Fourthly, conduct priority ranking of the climate adaptation actions in the plans through cost-benefit and multi-criteria analysis processes. Facilitate and build the capacity of the community to access resources and to submit their requests at VDC, Ilaka and District level for financial and technical support should the action plan require support beyond communities’ capacity, e.g. suspension bridge or water mill.

Water source and pipeline protectionIrrigation canal protection - pipe and plantationAlternative water source conservation - plantation and gabionsCommunity forestry user group formationEmergency fund establishmentSaving Credit fund establishmentAwareness raising about drinking water purification Practice of using latrines and stop open defecationHousehold and environment cleanliness practiceHand washing with soap and water practiceMultiple use of alternative water sources to increase income [Vegetable Production, Fish farming pond, Drip/micro irrigation, Water mill, Peltric set.]Suspension bridge constructionImproved cooking stoves constructionWater source registration

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3.7 Increasing awareness of climate change and adaptation

With awareness raising, it was found that people at every level understood the importance of climate issues and how climate change relates to every sector. Further facilitation and support is needed to ensure understanding is then incorporated into a long-term programmes and planning cycles. At community level, people were very interested as it related to what they were experiencing in their lives. The NEWAH field staff were surprised to observe that participants at both community and VDC level stayed till the end of long sessions and came back the next day.

NEWAH found that it can roll out climate change awareness through groups and FEDWASUN. They are developing materials/tools. They found there was great benefit in using real examples from other areas alongside local examples (e.g. Panchkhal drought video). Greater use can be made of local FM radio. It was found that it is important that local decision-makers understand how climate change can impact on existing development targets, and how it is not proposed to take the focus from MDGs, but to help ensure the effort put into meeting MDGs is not undone by climate change effects.

3.8 Including the priorities of the most vulnerable in planning adaptive capacity development

It is important to facilitate each community to identify the most vulnerable people and households through a vulnerability assessment process, and to ensure highly vulnerable people are present in the discussion. Some poor families and some very vulnerable were present during the pilot work. If they were not it was often because they were too busy labouring

or they lived too far away or did not hear about the workshop. Those who did the wellbeing/vulnerability categorisation appeared to take into account the needs/situation of those absent, but a formal process is needed to ensure this consistently happens. Triangulation between mapping, clustering and informal discussion seemed to be consistent.

Usually in NEWAH processes the technical and social staff visit every household to ensure inclusion. This level of input it unlikely to be feasible for LAPA at scale. It is useful to facilitate the community to set up guidelines that give opportunities for the most vulnerable people to express their concerns and receive support from the rest of the people to ensure social justice to the most poor and vulnerable.

The adaptive capacity needs of the most poor and vulnerable must be prioritised and linked into planning using a multi-criteria ranking process which helps to rank the actions against vulnerability, gender and poverty indicators. There is a need both to mobilise the most poor and vulnerable people to have voice and demand support from political leaders, and at the same time to sensitise the leaders so that they listen to the poor and vulnerable and represent them.

During the pilot it was easy to work with these groups and gain understanding of the priorities of the most vulnerable because NEWAH had gained their trust and respect. It would need more effort if working from scratch in a new area. It is important not to assume that the priorities of the poorest are generally the same as those of the people present in a workshop. They need to be deliberately sought, though it takes extra time and resources.

3.9 Assessing vulnerability

The vulnerability assessment process identified both the most vulnerable areas and households. A range of tools were

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found to be useful: social mapping, hazard mapping, trend analysis, well-being ranking, vulnerability assessment, gateway services analysis and mapping adaptation support agencies. When existing well-being ranking has climate factors added, it can be used to verify the most vulnerable people. In this pilot it was found that most of poorest households were in a highly vulnerability situation. People really wanted to be engaged in the process when discussion was based around real vulnerabilities. Social mapping helped to locate the areas at risk (households, water source, water supply intake of pipeline or reservoir tank) from landslide or flood. The hazard mapping, analysis and ranking helped communities to emphasise their real situation, and the risk to their life or livelihoods, when preparing and seeking support for a response. Assessment of responses to hazards made or sought by the community was useful for the planning phase. The community-based adaptation planning process helps communities to focus on climate hazards and seek possible adaptation measures. While mapping potential support agencies, it was not so easy for communities to identify specific partners and they did not know how to get the required support effectively.

WASH is an effective entry point when discussing vulnerability. People really focus because of their high vulnerability if a drinking water supply system is damaged, and they also consider wider implications such as those on health and livestock. This example also effectively highlights the vulnerability of a system that is dependent on one main source. The importance of protecting minor springs for times of emergency can be used for talking about the importance of diversifying options to increase adaptive capacity.

3.10 Prioritisation of options that increase people’s ability to survive, cope and adapt

The community identified all the options that could increase their ability to survive, cope and adapt. They separated them according to the needs of different wealth or social status groups. They identified the options that they can carry out on their own locally and others that require additional external assistance. The community-based cost benefit analysis tool took a great deal of time. Since it is a qualitative process for ranking that takes time and skill to understand the concept, it is a bit difficult to involve all the women, poor and vulnerable in the calculation process. Thus, key informants should be carefully selected to represent all groups. The facilitator needs to be well prepared to use this tool with the local community. It is important that the outcome of complex processes are presented back to the whole community, taking care to ensure the most poor and vulnerable understand. At the end the community felt it was important to slightly amend the outcome.

3.11 Including climate foresight into local decision making processes

It was found that district level decision-makers need to have a solid understanding of climate change, and that the initial awareness-raising was not enough. They need to have access to up-to-date information about climate change that is relevant to their district. In addition decision-making processes need to be flexible enough to respond to changes in climate change information and local climate change effects. There needs to be a clear mechanism for passing up-to-date climate information from international research to national government to local government to household. Once at VDC or ward level information can be passed through local organisations that have existing awareness-raising mechanisms. It was also noted that higher level policy-makers and scientists also need to be informed and updated about

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the particular climate effects being felt in each district in order to pass on appropriate climate information. Using climate foresight is meaningful when clear foresight can be given – when it is simply about expecting increased uncertainty, it is harder for people to tangibly respond. It was found to be easier for people to reflect on past disasters and current vulnerability than to think forwards and prepare.

3.12 The use and modification of participatory tools

Details of the tools used and how they were found to increase adaptive capacity can be found in Annex 8.

Modification of tools to include climate change was a key element of the pilot (see Annex 9 for details). It was straightforward to include climate and other vulnerability into existing tools that the community was familiar with. In fact people appreciated seeing these very real issues being included. However, facilitators need to have a firm grounding in climate change themselves. In general it was found that if tools are used in a fully participatory way, then with awareness and information, communities can make the most appropriate modifications themselves. Whilst it was straightforward to modify wellbeing ranking for vulnerability ranking, or to combine wealth and vulnerability, participants did find it quite hard to keep all the factors (physical, social, ecological etc) in mind while trying to cluster households into different vulnerability groups. It was interesting to make a comparison of the categorisation of families into wellbeing groups A, B, C (poorest to least poor) and

vulnerability groups High, Medium, Low, as in the table below.

The gateway service analysis initiated discussion about which services were actually accessible to which households in practice, and about which services were priorities for immediately increasing adaptive capacity. Having easily assessed access to and the value of the existing services, some participants found it hard to say what additional services they would need to increase adaptive capacity. They found it hard to think beyond everyday needs, so it would be effective to use this tool following exercises that envision a future with high adaptive capacity. Below is an example of gateway services identified and put into a hierarchy by a mixed group of community members. Square brackets indicate not available but seen as desirable. Because the value and prioritization of gateway services differed from those in the ISET model, it will be essential to use local priorities when deciding which gateway services to be first developed for VDC/district delivery, and to bias decisions towards the needs of the most vulnerable.

The analysis of gateway services was useful for community understanding of the bigger picture, relationships, and identification of what services they need and how to access them. The analysis also highlighted to facilitators how the community was not very aware of what services exist to increase resilience and which may be most helpful in times of disaster. Gateway analysis may be more useful at district level for developing strategies for the sequence of providing services, but the tool was not tested at that level. It can be useful during consultation by district decision makers to ask different communities and interest groups to put the

HA 21 mA 9 LA 10 A = 40 (most poor)

Hb 2 mb 16 LS 17 B = 35

HC 0 mC 5 LC 12 C = 17

H = 23 (most vuln) M = 30 L = 39 T = 92

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services in their preferred hierarchy (level) groups. It would be very useful for them to see how the ranking differed with wealth, access to resources and vulnerability.

3.13 Service delivery mechanisms

The community mapped the services and organizations accessible to them. While making their adaptation plan they considered where they could get support. Small-scale local level service delivery can take place through community based organisations and local NGOs under VDC co-ordination. The NEWAH team noted that services need to be delivered competently, equitably and according to the identified needs and priorities of the climate vulnerable. There needs to be coordination between service delivering organizations (government and non-government) at district level. This has been said for many years, but perhaps climate change can be the catalyst to make it reality.

In NEWAH’s experience, service delivery mechanisms in the WASH sector should include: Implementation of integrated WASH programmes with gender, social inclusion and equity sensitivity, Multiple-use

water services (fish farming and vegetable farming), Water conservation (rainwater harvesting), Capacitating communities for operation, management and conservation of water sources and systems.

Mechanisms for the climate vulnerable to reach up and draw down resources and access services were found to be different at different levels:

Community: They valued three factors that enabled them to reach up and draw down: Information around climate change, adaptation and where to access support. Facilitation support from the NGO in drawing up plans so as to have something concrete to take to the VDC and DDC. Enabling support in terms of accompanying them to District fora where they could meet decision-makers face to face and present their case.

VDC level: Climate change awareness was a crucial step in creating the environment for the community representatives to come and make their requests. A strong planning process and governance structure would help the VDC be an effective channel of funds and support.

District level boundary actors: The district level politicians and officials appreciated the real voices of the community representatives and committed to address some of the action points given resource availability. During the September workshop, their contribution was collected through group work and presentation on four key strategic questions. These contributions were relevant for climate proofing existing WASH systems and useful hints about the process of VDC level plan inclusion into DDC plan. The politicians and a Constitutional Assembly member were invited during the sharing workshop at district level and gave suggestions, feedback and verbal commitment to address the community adaptation needs within their capacity and resource availability.

Gateway services

Core Access to land, water, forest, a safe house.

Level 1 Safe drinking water, toilet, medicinal herbs, health post, medicine shop, primary education, secondary education,

Level 2 Higher education, temple/monestry, [technical support on crops and livestock], [suspension bridge], [irrigation], local labour employment. WFP (goats, seeds)

Level 3 Roads, transport, mill, post office, telephone. Radio/TV (news) [electricity]

Level 4 [Markets, credit/loans, training and support for establishing micro-enterprises, emergency fund]

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3.14 Finance delivery mechanisms

From the pilot and wider NEWAH experience a few key findings are drawn together. Mechanisms need to be simple, low-risk and appropriate for the most poor and vulnerable – they must not further increase the gaps between those who have access to resources and those who do not. They should be both flexible and specific, (for example, local emergency funds should be kept separate to cooperative financing for income generation activities), yet there also needs to be some provision for extraordinary situations such as devastating floods. Micro finance that has in-kind ways of repaying failed loans would benefit the most poor (eg. they have no way to pay back money for livestock if it dies, but could do so in local labour). Therefore delivery needs to ensure such types of options are inbuilt in favour of the most poor and vulnerable. Mechanisms need to be widely publicised so that everyone has accurate information about eligibility and timeframes.NGOs have a crucial role in awareness raising, capacity building, technical support and process facilitation at community level and VDC level during the development of finance mechanisms. The DDC role is crucial in regulating public and private financing at district level and developing norms so that the poor and vulnerable can benefit from financing opportunities. Local governance is key for both institutional and financial delivery mechanisms. The roles of national government and donors is in coordinating, monitoring and creating an enabling policy environment for financial distribution.

3.15 Building capacity to reach up and draw down resources to implement locally identified priorities

Capacity needs to be built; it cannot be assumed that communities are aware of

or able to access financial and technical resources. It was found that when they put actions into plans that involve going to the district for help, the community needed capacity building support in order to be able to approach line agencies and other officials. The pilot team accompanied the delegation of 16 members of Guranse village to a VDC level meeting and then district headquarters to introduce them to key decision makers.) There are roles for key players at every level.

Government roles would be in the areas of: • Policy and guideline development.• Climate change information system

development for key actors and dissemination of general information for the public.

• Building capacity of government officials, political representatives, including VDC secretary, school teachers and NGOs/CBOs regarding the adaptation needs of the most vulnerable.

• Coordination of the distribution of resources and the planning, implementation and monitoring of initiatives that increase adaptive capacity.

• Timely budget disbursement as required to support adaptive capacity development.

NGO roles would be in the areas of:• Awareness raising of rights and service

provision at community and VDC level.• Capacity building at community and

VDC level to reach up and draw down funds and support.

• Technical support for implementation of community level activities.

• Supporting monitoring and evaluation of resources accessed and being accountable.

• Facilitation of resource distribution process at VDC and community levels, and encouraging transparency and fairness of service providers.

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CBO roles would be in the areas of:• Mobilisation of people in accessing

and accountably using resources in the implementation of climate adaptation priority actions.

• Maintaining links with VDC and other support agencies at VDC and district level for smooth flow of information and resources.

• Mobilisation of locally available financial and social capital in response to climate change hazards, such as establishing an emergency fund, to match with funding from VDC or District.

3.16 Findings regarding the role of district level federations

The district Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users Network Nepal (FEDWASUN) is present in the district to advocate drinking water rights, bring the voices of water users to district and policy, and support citizen action. It works to build users’ capacity and empowerment through awareness, training and facilitation. It does not implement projects. It works closely with NEWAH and could raise awareness of climate change and adaptation in the WASH sector throughout the district. It could support the climate-proofing of village level and VDC level WASH plans.

They are confident that once they get climate change into community action plans, then they can get it into VDC plans, just as risk reduction procedures have been incorporated. They feel they can update plans and processes, and ensure access to the most vulnerable. With funding support the federation could prepare guidelines for incorporating climate change awareness and foresight into the WASH sector nationally. It could play a national role in advocating the mainstreaming of climate change at all levels, as they are currently in 46 districts and plan to expand to all 75.

Following the VDC and district level meetings the pilot team and key members of FEDWASUN met in Udayapur to discuss FEDWASUN’s involvement in the district level process. As a result, FEDWASUN submitted a brief concept note and is ready to play a key role.

3.17 Findings regarding the Water Use Master plan

The Water Use Master (WUMP) plan is infact an inventory of water resources rather than a plan. It has mapped all the water resources and provides technically appropriate suggestions for the use of each one. It is wider than WASH, considering water in general for drinking, irrigation and energy, and is therefore relevant to several sectors and district offices. It has consulted and recorded each community’s water use priorities and is thus a valuable resource for adaptation planning. WUMP contributes to increasing climate adaptation in the areas of drinking water, income generation, and activities prioritised by communities themselves. The VDC allocates funding and can prioritise water development in line with community priorities detailed in the WUMP.

NEWAH’s intention is to merge it into VDC profiles which are about to be prepared for Udaypur district. This way it will be mainstreamed and NEWAH will coordinate the timing of WUMP consultation with VDC profile preparation timing. This will also overcome the obstacle that WUMP has been seen by VDCs as owned by NEWAH , and resulted in other agencies leaving the work to them. It is suggested that the WUMP is considerably slimmed down so that it consists mainly of the inventory/prioritisation tables, and that the methodology is in the annex, and much of the excess is cut out.

FEDWASUN can apply pressure if district or VDC plans do not go according to WUMP recommendations and priorities. At DDC level the priorities can be different to that of the

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communities (and they tend to fund cheaper projects first). In theory all projects should go through the DDC council. In practice if a community’s project has not come up as a priority, and political pressure has not worked, they can approach offices and line agencies individually to ask for support.

3.18 Learning and recommendations regarding scaling-up community adaptation plans to the VDC level

• It is best that VDC level sensitisation takes place prior to working with communities. It should include representatives from all wards and local decision makers (including political party representatives).

• Action points in the community adaptation plans that require support from VDC and higher levels should be presented in priority order according to the result of cost benefit analysis and multi-criteria ranking.

• Often support is required to develop the capacity of the community to present their action plan or an application, and influence the decision to include their activities in the planning process. The establishment of links with VDC level decision makers is crucial.

• Mainstreaming can also happen through NEWAH plans as they have credibility at VDC (and DDC) level because the DDC allocated NEWAH VDCs to work in. This would also apply to other NGOs officially working in the district.

• Political party representatives expect to be invited to all important meetings,and nothing goes ahead without their support. It is an important opportunity to raise their awareness about climate change – as they may be more long term than government officers.

• It was found that where the VDC secretary is passive there are pros and

cons – they say yes but take little action, but also they do not block activities being carried out.

• Plans need to be backed by good technical support from projects, NGOs and other line agencies.

3.19 Learning and recommendations regarding scaling up to district level and ensuring coordinated planning

• Community plans need to come up through VDC council, and Ilaka offices (where they function) in order to effectively get incorporated into plans and result in action. However the official planning process rarely works in practice.

• It is essential for climate change awareness to be in every sector, agency, NGO and political party for adequate responses to bottom-up needs and plans. District level climate change sensitisation workshops should happen first, engaging DDC, DWSDO, DIO, DFO and politicians. It is useful to collect baseline information about what climate change related activities have already been undertaken.

• Rather than talk generally of LAPA it may be more useful to have nested CAPA, VAPA and DAPA (Community, VDC and District level adaptation plans).

• NEWAH, amongst others, can lobby for the development of climate change adaptation planning guidelines. Central level policy and guidelines with strong recommendations are needed to enable DDC and VDC actors to consider climate change on the development agenda and incorporate in into the annual planning process.

• The DDC should ensure climate change is overarching and have the mandate to ask every sector and line agency to

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climate-proof their plans and include climate change adaptation measures in their development activities.

• If NEWAH were to work in a new district without existing working relationships to encourage coordinated planning, the following process would be helpful. Identify existing agencies or networks that are working on water, sanitation or climate change issues in the district. Visit the DDC and explore opportunities in relation to what has already been done in the district and what gaps exist. Explain the background and purpose of the process clearly and ask district level key actors (LDO, Engineer and Planning officers, politicians) what would be the best steps to proceed in the district. Organize district level awareness building and consensus receiving workshop. Identify the most climate vulnerable VDCs or Ilaka with the help of participants and request they are prioritised. Select VDCs in which to begin work from the priority list and get approval to organise VDC level workshops, discussions, surveys and facilitate an adaptation planning process with communities. Show district decision makers the provisional plans of action developed at community and VDC level, and invite district level decision-makers to provide their suggestion on the process and framework. Encourage them to clearly state their commitment to supporting or implementing elements of the plans.

3.20 Monitoring and evaluating changes in adaptive capacity so as to ensure adaptation planning is reducing vulnerability to climate change

The effectiveness of an intervention can be measured in terms of understanding among

the communities, its uptake and its impact on their life in terms of increased adaptive capacity. The improved understanding of people can be verified by listening to their views and use of terminology after having awareness raised, and their commitment towards participating in training, meetings, action plan preparation and implementation. Something is seen as effective by a household or community if they maintain it, continue doing it or develop it. Effectiveness needs to be defined by the people an intervention or process is intended to benefit. It can be measured and evaluated by them and other boundary actors. Simple community-based monitoring charts can be prepared with action points and what action was undertaken and when. The community completes them themselves, thus keeping accountability in the community. Bringing together VDC level and district level professionals, politicians, VDC Secretary, health post in-charge and journalists seemed to add value to and validate the effectiveness of efforts.

It is too early to give strong a recommendation for the evaluation process. However, for monitoring the adaptive capacity of households, including the vulnerable, the following process would be useful.

Community level Once communities have defined what they mean by increased adaptive capacity or reduced vulnerability they can prepare a monitoring chart of planned climate change adaptation activities and carry out self monitoring. A self monitoring tool should be simple and visual so that community members can easily understand and update it. It can monitor qualitative and quantitative changes. It can measure one-off events and changes in capacity over time. Adaptation activity indicators should be developed together by/with the community. An example for this level of monitoring is below:

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VDC level At VDC level the monitoring should also be based on the criteria of the most climate vulnerable for increasing their adaptive capacity. The monitoring process can be based on how many climate hazard events (landslide, flood, fire, drought) have been reported over recent years from the different wards of the VDC, and types of climate change adaptation actions undertaken. The response of the communities and VDC, should the climate change related hazards takes place, would indicate changes in adaptive capacity of people. This is difficult to measure if the event does not take place or if adaptation measures are not reported.

Local NGOs and CBOsIt is important to incorporate a climate related component into planning and monitoring processes and frameworks. However, organizations generally have an existing framework. Making some amendments to existing tools can be done but it takes time and flexibility to mainstream throughout the organisation. In some cases there are implications for the whole information management system and M&E framework that may take time and require additional resources.

District levelThe district disaster relief committee can provide information regarding effective capacity to deal with disasters. Slow onset effects of climate change such as reduced soil moisture leading to drought should

also be monitored. Key district officers and political party representatives should be invited to visit and observe the adaptation actions, talk with communities and assess the effectiveness, and hear their views regarding district policy decisions.

3.21 Ensuring M&E is integral to planning, with effective feed-back loops

It was found useful to start from identifying what people at every level see as qualities of high adaptive capacity in their local context. These can be used as indicators of effective processes or interventions. Once plans are made to reach the identified steps towards adaptive capacity, every activity can be cross checked to see that it contributes to a specific element of the vision of high adaptive capacity. Regular monitoring of progress against the qualities/indicators should be done foremost by the ‘beneficiary’ groups, and also by wider stakeholders. They should then use the monitoring to realign the planning – either to be on track for an original target or to respond to a changed situation.

Evaluation takes place periodically using the original indicators, and any modifications, at the different levels from community to district, to determine whether processes and interventions have succeeded in increasing the adaptive capacity of the most poor and vulnerable.

Adaptation activity Plan Achievement/indicators outcome in terms of reduced vulnerability

Water source protection

Gabion box installation Three gabion boxes have been installed above the intake structure to divert the flood during the monsoon season.

So far they have not been breeched and the intake is safe.

ditto Tree plantation 50 trees planted above intake. unknown

Establish an emergency fund

Develop capacity to approach district level funders

“On a capacity scale of one to ten we began at 2 and now feel we are at 6.”

“We went to the DSCO and got seedlings and wire to do the above.”

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Findings form the foundation for the next round of planning. Evaluation feeds into the next project cycle. It is important to ensure a sense of ownership of the monitoring by key players in the mainstreaming process such as VDC secretary and LDO. Public sharing of periodic evaluation should be encouraged.

3.22 Mainstreaming WASH into VDC and then DDC planning processes

The pilot found the VDC and DDC level actors were very receptive to community level adaptation plans. They pledged financial and other support. The community was very encouraged by this response and felt they now had capacity to go again alone and ask for services and support. This was a new experience for the NEWAH team to focus on integrating community plans into the local government planning processes. It was clear how this leads to adaptation mainstreaming.

FEDWASUN was confident that once they incorporate climate change into their plans, they can facilitate its mainstreaming into VDC plans, and can update plans and processes to ensure access to the most vulnerable. Mainstreaming depends very much on local relations. In Udayapur district NEWAH has good relations with key decision makers at both Rauta VDC level and district level (including through FEDWASUN) so WASH activities are incorporated into local planning/reporting and mainstreaming climate change seems to be straightforward.

Mainstreaming WASH can be an entry point to supporting sustainable livelihood development. In theory mainstreaming can happen through the WUMP; in practice WUMP is an inventory, a very useful resource for planning, rather than a plan itself. Mainstreaming can happen when WUMP is incorporated into VDC profiles. The timing

for this is favourable as in Udhaypur district MOLD VDC profiles are being prepared now. This can result in communities getting government funding for implementation of activities beyond WASH (and WASH too if they choose to when NEWAH withdraws.) There are inconsistencies still to be ironed out – in the VDC profile guidelines water and sanitation are included in planning, however at DDC level only water supply is included, but sanitation is not - WUMP can meet this gap (Water Aid is encouraging this).

3.23 Barriers and risks to developing and implementing LAPAs

Constraints in identifying vulnerability to climate change • It can be difficult to separate climate

vulnerability and general vulnerability, and in practice at village level for vulnerable people the distinction is not important. It was found to be very difficult for groups to balance all the different social and ecological, short and long-term vulnerabilities of community members in order to categorise them.

• While mapping vulnerability at VDC level ward boundaries are hard for people to draw accurately and can cause heated discussion – so it can be useful to use prepared maps and the community superimposes their local information.

Constraints to including the most poor, excluded and climate vulnerable• It is always difficult to get a large

representation of very poor or excluded people. Some highly vulnerable people will be present but they tend to have voice, the time to attend and access to resources. The reasons the most poor and excluded do not attend are understood, but difficult to address, as they tend to require high input.

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In some communities their interests are well represented, but it can not be guaranteed. At the national scale of developing LAPA interest groups may speak up for them, but may not be able to represent the specificity of their context. It may be best to work though existing groups that support the development of the most poor and excluded, such as women’s groups, water user groups or forest user groups, but these are only effective if they genuinely focus on them. Provision of guidelines, tools and trained social mobilisers can not guarantee, but can increase the chances of their inclusion.

• Participants may be disillusioned with the adaptation planning process if the finance situation has not been transparent and expectations have been raised where they are not deliverable.

Constraints to adaptation planning at community level• During the pilot a great deal of input

went into one community, and still they are just beginning to understand the implications of climate change, and the whole community was not present – such input is unlikely to be feasible for scaling out.

• Sometimes it is hard to plan at community level, when life (including climate change impacts) is seen as being in the hands of the gods.

• It can be difficult when there seem no actions that can be taken – e.g. in protecting a spring from a large landslide caused by a river in flash flood.

• The formal action plan is less important to accessing VDC funds, than convincing political leaders and the VDC secretary. The plan is still of value to the community, both for the process of developing it and as something against which to monitor progress and evaluate impact.

• It is easy to get people thinking of climate proofing their plans, but there

can be an unwillingness to change plans which have already been approved and formalised, and they would rather do it in the next cycle.

Constraints to adaptation planning at VDC level• The lack of elected representatives and

a proper VDC planning process are key issues. The majority of the practical suggestions in this report relate to working with the current ad hoc local governance system, rather than the way it works in theory. A key finding was that local communities need good connections with ward members or politicians for their planned actions to be incorporated into plans or receive funding.

• The lack of proper links between local district government plans and line agency plans is another constraint. There needs to be greater district-wide coordination, and climate change may be a focus to bring plans together.

• Note: In the pilot area the Kirat movement prevents VDC secretaries from going to work in their areas so the LDO has given them rooms to operate from in the Bazaar, this reduces access to them by community members, yet may increase their access to higher decision makers.

Constraints at district level• Insufficient awareness among the

decision makers about the need for climate change to be an integral part of the development agenda at district and VDC level may cause delays to the process.

• Proper management and utilisation of allocated funds can not be assured.

• Absence of elected local bodies and dependency on agreement of all political parties is a constraint, as agreement is seldom reached and sometimes may not be in favour of poor and vulnerable communities.

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• District level authorities may not be in a position to provide the proper instruction to VDCs for incorporation and implementation of climate adaptation plans due to lack of directives from above or limited financial resources.

• Untimely disbursement of funds through government institutions may delay the process of building adaptive capacity at community level, and lead to frustration or increase the vulnerability of the most vulnerable.

• Donor policies and requirements may be hard for local level agencies to meet.

3.24 Learning from NEWAH’s experience of scaling-out and scaling-up NGOs as long–term service providers for increasing adaptive capacity (objective 3)

3.24.1 Lessons regarding geographic expansion• Expand gradually (region-district-VDC).• Expand systematically, according to

need on the ground.• Focus on areas of real need, even if

they are most difficult. Spend time researching which are the places of real need, and the communities and individuals that most need to be included. However, to first establish a presence, it helps to work in more easy areas first.

• Respond to demand, but be aware that in some places it might be necessary to create demand through awareness raising.

• Be ready also to go where government or donors have priority to focus.

• Note that government policy and donor interest need to be complimentary in order for NGOs to expand and implement effectively.

• Harmonise with donor interest in a focus area.

• Try to influence new donors to come to work in the most vulnerable places.

• Decentralise.• Rather than cover whole country thinly,

better to focus on working well and having wide coverage in a region.

3.24.2 Lessons regarding programme expansion• Main focus should be consistent over

time and place, with new components added according to demand, donors or latest trends.

• Gender and social inclusion should be there from the outset and in all components.

• Important to always meet basic needs and keep programmes practical, in line with technical knowledge and potential.

• Livelihoods element can be included later, but need to think of multiple water use from the outset with communities.

• Work closely with whole community from the start, and let them inform programme expansion.

• Bring examples from other areas, facilitate participant exposure to options and participation in the design stage.

• Costs can increase with increased inclusion (e.g. if working with more remote and scattered communities). In very remote areas it is very expensive to implement programmes and interventions.

3.24.3 Lessons on expansion with regard to increasing influence in the WASH sector• Credibility (as manifest as increased

voice in advising policy, increased effectiveness of advocacy) comes through working on the ground, providing practical support.

• Credibility with communities comes with service delivery and a rounded WASH approach.

• A disadvantage of having credibility in the WASH sector is being left with

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difficult implementation, or all the implementation (if line agencies no longer bother).

• Important to have local government respect.

• Important to lobby with political party representatives.

• Credibility increased through being truly transparent and participatory, working through local NGOs/CBOs, having a long term reputation, meeting basic needs, giving no cause to make people upset or block the work.

• Need to have the following qualities – flexibility (e.g. to work though conflict, switching to work more through CBOs when NGOs cannot work), respond to change or new focuses (e.g. add GAP or CC focus) or

changing donors, ability to see clearly the way forward into new areas/themes.

3.24.4 Lessons regarding how government, other NGOs and the WASH sector have learnt from NEWAH’s experience of scaling up/out• Acknowledgement of achievements.• NEWAH asked to share findings during

policy development e.g. to input into 2004 policy.

• NEWAH a member of the government sector stakeholder group (MPPW), involved as member in joint sector review initiated by Sector Efficiency Improvement Unit (SEIU).

• NEWAH part of key task forces e.g. Steering Committee for National Sanitation Action.

• NEWAH approached by donors, strengths recognized.

CONCLUSION: TAKING LAPA FORWARD

4.1 Proposed LAPA development for Rauta VDC and Udayapur district Based on the foundations laid during the pilot phase NEWAH would continue the LAPA development work as follows.

At community level it would work towards the development of adaptation plans at the micro-catchment scale that includes every household. This would involve awareness raising, vulnerability mapping, adaptation planning, building capacity to reach up and draw down resources and access services, monitoring and plan revision. This would be based on the recommendations of the existing Water Users Master Plan.

At the level of Rauta VDC it would1. Further increase awareness of key actors of climate change and the importance of

including it in planning.2. Increase the capacity of VDC members from every ward to explain about climate change

and take action to increase local resilience.3. Encourage VDC decision-makers to support and respond to community level adaptation

planning and generally strengthen the local planning process.4. Build a team to facilitate adaptation planning at community level (perhaps through

VWASHCC) that includes all actors/sectors.5. Facilitate the development of a VDC level mechanism for equitably allocating funding for

adaptation activities.6. Develop a role for schools/students with teachers that have shown interest.7. Follow up existing plans and monitor progress.

At district level it would1. Continue to encourage CA members, DDC (or the current elected body) members,

government officials and political party representatives to prioritise climate change in development planning (through awareness, vulnerability mapping, adaptation planning, equitable finance distribution).

2. Facilitate the development of coordination mechanisms between district level agencies and down through VDC to community level (as best as possible given governance constraints.

3. Encourage DDC to allocate budget for adaptation planning.4. Facilitate the development of funding mechanisms, that include prioritisation of the

most vulnerable.5. Develop the capacity of FEDWASUN to advocate for climate change inclusion in water

use and management.

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NEWAH would then make a request to the DDC to facilitate the development of adaptation planning with communities throughout the district and roll out the programme to every VDC in Udhaypur.

4.2 National LAPA design based on experience of the WASH sector

Based on the pilot, NEWAH recommends a LAPA process as depicted in diagrams 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 and detailed below.

ApproachThe following approach is proposed in order to address adaptation priorities at local level: • Establish a coordination process at district,

VDC and community level, with the initial objective of creating an enabling environment for dialogue among the boundary actors and with the general public about climate change issues.

• Initiate a climate change sensitisation and awareness process and identify local climate hazards, risks and vulnerabilities.

• Involve the communities, VDC level decision makers, officials, existing community based groups, NGOs, youth clubs, line agencies and media to increase understanding of the implications of the risks and

uncertainties of climate change and potential adaptation measures that could be made either locally or with outside support where required.

• Explore and develop opportunities to integrate the climate change adaptation priorities into the existing development planning processes as below.

ToolsThe following tools would be used:• Climate vulnerability assessment • Social Mapping• Hazard mapping, analysis and ranking• Vulnerability and well-being ranking• Gateway services analysis • Community based adaptation planning • Mapping adaptation partnership

(support agencies)• Community based monitoring and

evaluation.

Coordination/synergyCoordination is essential as climate change impacts all sectors at each scale.• Synergistic working needs to be modeled

from central level, and coordination across watersheds encouraged.

• The elected district body (currently the DDC) should oversee coordination amongst line agencies and other district actors, rather than a separate climate committee.

n incorporate community plan into VdC level planning and allocate VdC budget

n ensure VdC plans are climate proof

n Forward to plans to ilaka level

n identity climatic hazardsn Assess the risk of them actually happeningn identify most vulnerable households and communities and their socio-economical statusn make community level plans to cope with, prepare for and adapt to hazardsn Climate proof existing plans

n Accept ward level and VdC level adaptation planning and forward to ddC

n incorporate plans into district plans and allocate budget (prioritise adaptive capacity of most vulnerable)

n Provide technical support for planning, design and implementation

n ensure district plans use climate foresight and are climate proof

Ward level

VdC level

ilaka level

district level

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• The VDC should ensure synergy amongst government and non-government agencies and political parties working locally.

• At micro-catchment level community organizations such as water user committees, forest users groups, irrigation user committees, and saving and credit cooperatives can coordinate local effort and work for synergy and optimum use of resources.

Institutional MechanismsInstitutional mechanisms appropriate for supporting LAPA development and implementation vary at different scales:• There need to be teams of local

facilitators working with communities to develop LAPA or to climate proof existing community planning mechanisms. They need skills in awareness raising, participatory planning and social mobilization (to reach up draw down).

• Small-scale local service delivery would be in partnership with community based organizations, local NGOs closely coordinated by VDC council and processes. They should all have clear roles.

• Use should be made of existing strong community organizations and the capacity of others built.

• District wide NGOs are crucial for awareness raising, capacity building, technical support and process facilitation at community level and VDC level during plan development and implementation.

• A strong sense of ownership at every level is essential for effective mainstreaming.

• Strengthen DDC capacity to act according to the local governance act, to have the authority to ensure all planning and budgeting is climate proof and insist on a coordinated

approach. It is important to use the existing local government planning structure, even though is does not function freely and fairly, rather than bring in something new.

• Central and regional government and donor roles would be essential in coordinating, monitoring and creating an enabling policy environment for the process. Key players at district level need directives and guidelines from above to effectively ensure climate mainstreaming.

Financial MechanismsConsidering the present socio-political situation of the country, it would worth preparing more than one financing strategy: • Should the DDC and VDC have integrity

with a good working environment with skilled human resources, funding is best channelled through local government.

• An alternative mechanism can be a coalition of agencies consisting the DDC, VDC, NGOs and CBOs with clear roles.

• In line with the NAPA stipulation that 80% of funding goes to communities an option for directing the country’s total climate change adaptation fund flow to local level is suggested as follows: The government sector to manage 70% with 56% reaching the community (14% for management and overheads) and the NGO sector to manage 30% with 24% reaching community level.

• Cooperatives and other community owned enterprises should be encouraged for sustainable local financing. Provision needs to be made for the poor and most vulnerable.

• Consideration should be given to roles of both not-for-profit and for-profit private sector players.

• Public private partnerships should be considered in the absence of adaptation funding.

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Technology/practicesPractices that increase adaptive capacity specific to the WASH sector include:• Climate proof permanent water sources

and drinking water supply systems.• Identify alternative water sources and

develop conservation and protection plans.

• Provide support for rainwater collection at household and community level to recharge the ground water and meet community demand for household use, livestock and micro irrigation.

• Promote multiple use water systems according to community needs and context, including income generating activities.

• Facilitate Open Defecation Free Community/VDC as well as Clean and Healthy community/VDC.

• Facilitate sustained improved hygiene and sanitation behaviour and practices regarding hand washing, management of human excreta, water hygiene and food hygiene.

• Promote improved cooking stoves.• Plan for and provide emergency

support.• Provide training and capacity building

support.

This is a time of great opportunity to mainstream climate change through developing local adaptation planning

processes. Local people are keen to understand how their experience of increasingly unpredictable local weather links to global climate change, and they are keen to build resilience to immediate and long-term climate induced hazards. The decision-makers at VDC and district level are also keen to address climate change issues and support the building of adaptive capacity. A supportive policy environment is coming into place to enable key decision- makers that are keen to address climate adaptation to facilitate the development and implementation of LAPAs.

NEWAH is in a strong position to continue the work begun during the pilot design phase. It is keen to embrace climate change and address the adaptation needs of rural communities. It sees the way forward for NGOs with a district presence as starting at community level to identify vulnerabilities, capacities and priorities, and build the capacity of communities to prepare adaptation plans and lobby for them to be integrated into the district planning process. It will work at every level within the district to strengthen institutional and funding mechanisms to meet the adaptive capacity development needs of poor and vulnerable communities. NEWAH will also take the WASH sector forward nationally to embed climate change understanding in all programmes and advocacy work.

280


Action

Central levelorientation to Staff

n through workshop,n Presentationn Guideline

n through workshop,n Presentationsn Group work on CC experiences

n through workshop,n Presentationsn Group work on CC experiences

n Presentationsn Group work on CC

incidences in whole VdCn time Line

n Presentationsn Group work n time Linen Seasonal calendarn Well being ranking

Regional levelorientation to Staff

district levelorientation to officials

VdC level stakeholderorientation

Community levelorientation and

planning

Process and tools

4.2.1 LAPA Development Process

281


identification of vulnerable water user

n Group work on CC experiencesn Participatory vulnerability mapping

n Participatory vulnerability mapping

n Social mapping

n Participatory community meeting, climate rish analysisn Cause and effect matrix

n Participatory community meeting, climate rish analysisn Participatory CC adaptive

planning

n delegationn Applicationn Lobby meeting

n delegationn Applicationn Lobby meeting

identification of climatevulnerable water sources

and systems

identification of adaptive capacity needs of PCV

Community adaptative action plan

Lobbying for community adaptation plan

incorporation into VdC plans

Lobbying for community adaptation plan

incorporation into ddC plans

4.2.2 Planning and Capacity building process

Hazard impact(1 (low impact) to 5 (high impact))

Scale of impact or risk of impact

Response(1- less effort; to 5 -prompt and effective response)

Scale of response

Land slideoccurred around water source

Pipe damaged, tank broken down, water supply discontinued for one week, it took three hours to collect water for trip, people become sick.

5 40 meter pipe brought from VDC, all users contributed to collect stone and construct stable foundation, people went to alternative source to fetch water, people had to take medicine to control fever, local effort like use of bamboo to provide temporary solution of water supply.

2.5

Landslide on Pipeline

Pipe damaged and water supply discontinued

5 Pipeline clearance, skill mason’s support to repair damaged pipeline and continue the water supply. The response process was slow and not satisfactory.

3

Watersource drying up

Difficult to water cattle, reducedirrigation opportunity,

2 People did not take any action to protect the water

source instead, they took the cattle to alternative sources.

1

Use ofunsafewater fordrinking

A number of water borne diseases occurred, people became sick, difficult to go to health post for treatment, mental and economic loss for treatment

5 Search and use of traditional healers, use of herbs and

medicine, boiled water given to patient and started to

construct toilets.

3

ANNEx-1Analysis of climate change hazard impact and adaptation strategies. Prepared visually with a force field analysis,

ANNExES

282

ANNEx-2descriptors of adaptive capacity identified in the field

descriptors/indicator areas identified by Field Staff:• Awareness of CC, DDR and CCA – truthful information

• Education in general

• Communication – means of updating, local FM (e.g. in disaster ‘remember to boil water’)

• Communication – mobile phone

• Food, shelter

• Safe drinking water

• Health

• Road infrastructure with transport

• Irrigation water

• Preparedness and emergency fund

• Knowing where to go for what help

• Ability to access support/services

• Appropriate local enterprises for income

• Market and transport links (appropriate - eg ropeway to cope with floods)

• Solar electricity (for light and charging phone and radio batteries)

For these need:• Specific interventions for P&E

• Finance to establish enterprises

• Co-operatives for equitable savings and credit (with in-kind options for poor to repay)

• Co-ops to coordinate marketing, Co-ops with pro-poor policies and priorities.

• Activities to strengthen social cohesion and social capital

• Awareness of rights, including child rights

• Family planning

• Active youth, with confidence to speak and organise

descriptors/indicator areas identified by Community:From household vulnerability clustering –• Safe from landslides

• Safe from fire

• Economic capacity

• Presence of and support for disability

• River control

• Good health

• Income

• Strong/safe house

• Literacy

• Employment stability

• Options and alternatives

• Relatives working outside

From Visioning - • Income generating activities (eg fish or vegetable farming)

• Health post – manned and near by

• Vehicle road

• Awareness and information on a range of things

• Electricity for mill and light

• Forest thick and green

• NTFP in forest empty spaces

• Education of children to SLC

• Education of adults (functional literacy)

• Crop diversification

• Cheap loans from own group

• Suspension bridge for access during monsoon floods

Nb different tools yield differing sets of descriptors (a study on this would be interesting)

283


284


ANNEx-3Prioritisation of adaptation actions

a further discussion took place asking them about options for use of available water sources. responses covered irrigation to paddy and wheat fields, fish farming, vegetable farming and water mill construction and micro hydro plant construction as alternative options.

Hazard Adaptation action effectiveness (local criteria) (1-3)

Cost effectiveness(1-3)

Feasibility (1-3)

Focussed on target group (1-3)

total score

Priority

Landslide ator around water source

a) Gabion box

b) Tree plantation

c) Alternative source protection

2

1

3

1

3

2

3

3

3

3

3

3

9

10

11

IVth

III

II

Stream water used for drink

a) Boiling

b) Use of local firewood

c) Emergency fund for treatment

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

12

12

12

Ist

Water source depletion

a) Plantation

b) Rain water harvesting

c) Reservoir Tank

2

1

2

3

2

2

3

2

2

3

3

3

11

8

9

Diseases/ epidemic

a) use boiled water

b) toilet use

c) hand washing with soap

d) keep environment clean

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

12

12

12

12

Ist

285


ANNEx-4Verification of expected outputs

expected output Activities Verification tools

Identification of vulnerable water users

Participatory vulnerability mapping at community level.Categorisation of household vulnerability as High, Medium and Low.

Water users were identified as having High, Medium and Low vulnerability.

Participatory Vulnerability Assessment

Identification of climatevulnerable water resources and systems

Participatory vulnerability mapping at community level.

Number of water sources and water supply systems were identified with vulnerability status.

Social mapping

Identification of climate vulnerable households

Households are categorised according to vulnerability to climate change effects.

Households were identified as having High, medium and low vulnerability.

Modified well being ranking

Identification of qualities of adaptive capacity and needs of PCV to increase adaptive capacity

Participatory community meeting, climate risk analysis vs adaptation effort and adaptive capacity needs identification took place in the community.

Identification of qualities/indicators of adaptive capacity of community membersInventory of risks identified by communities. The key risk are: Landslide and flood.

Causes and effect matrix

Identification of gateway services

Participatory discussion undertaken to identify the required gateway services for increasing Adaptive Capacity.

List of desired institutions and services are received from communities

Focus group discussion using venn diagrams and gateways diagram

Increased awareness and understanding of CC at community, VDC and district level

Identification of and formal invitation to women, men, youth, politician, media, and agencies to awareness raising workshops.Orientation at DDC, VDC and community level through presentation of information and tools used in the community forestry sector.Tailor made facilitation through professionals as per the needs of the different levels.

Participants list, Inventory of climate change related elements, events and use of CC related terminology by the people after awareness raising.

Timeline, Seasonal calendarVideoPowerpoint presentation

Increased awareness of sanitation, latrine construction, safe use and hygiene in relation to climate change effects

Participatory discussion took place with women, men and youths in the community about the types of diseases occurred in the past and identification of possible adaptation action.

Participants list, inventory of types of diseases, climate hazards and adaptation measures with monitoring indicators developed,

Risk mapping, action plan and NEWAH M&E frame.

Amendment of community action plans in the light of CC (in effect an element of an adaptation plan)

Adaptation options are explored.Existing plans are climate proofed.Contingency plans are included.People are sensitised on makingmultiple and careful use of water.

Climate adaptive plan is prepared for existing water supply system and new components like farming pond, improved cooking stove have also been included as priority actions.

Participatory CC adaptive planning

Elements of community action plans are incorporated into VDC planning

A delegation of community reps (WSUC reps) presents the action points to VDC level and lobbies political parties for inclusion of CCA plan in VDC planning process.

Delegation of representative meets the VDC Secretary and political party before or during VDC council meeting.

Application, delegation, presentation and dialogue to influence incorporation.

Elements of community ac-tion plans are incorporated into DDC planning and Line Agency plans

WUSC reps go to visit LDO and Line Agencies (forest, soil cons, agri) to request support.They lobby for inclusion of their plans in the DDC planning process.

Delegation of representative met the DDC and political party before or during DDC council.

Submission of application with CC adaptation community action plan/VDC recommendation.

Climate change is incorpo-rated into NEWAH WASH activities

CC is discussed in meetings, included in trainings, NEWAH plans are climate-proofed, new plans include responses to current and potential future CC effects.

Reports of coordination meeting.Modification of plans

Planning meeting

Existing planning and monitoring tools are modified to include CC

Tools are modified and tested.Modification of tools is reported and recommendations made.

Modification is documented and reported to Senior Management Team at NEWAH HQ

Discussion, review and pre-testing in the field.

Local media coverage of CCA

NEWAH and FEDWASUN staff brief local journalists (print and FM), encourage interviews with LDO and support for influencing.

Copies of news/clips about CC events are received

formal informal linkages and coordination with local media.

286


FEDWASUN identifies a role with respect to CC that includes bringing voices of the climate vulnerable and helping mainstream climate change adaptation into district planning.

Discussions with district representative of FEDWASUN on their potential roles at VDC and district level.

FEDWASUN is willing to be engaged in the process for strengthening of its VDC level network of WSUCs, awareness on CC, disseminate information, play monitoring role and influence cc focus at district level.

Concept note received from FEDWASUN

The role of Water Use Master Plan WUMP and VDC profiles in CCA is enhanced

Options are explored and reported Reported in section 3.12 (Role explored, not enhanced)

Discussion

Recommendations of how to scale out adaptation and WASH interventions

Recommendations, learning and cautions are reported

See section 3.13 Discussion

Learning report Compilation of real learning, constraints and recommendations from the field.Steps for increasing adaptive capacity (LAPA process) with facilitation tips and what to watch out for.

Monthly reports M & E framework reporting formats and learning group discussions.

287


AN

NEx

- 5o

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Iden

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Taking

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4 4 4 2 4 2 4 1 1 4 1 0

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Estim

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Num

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iden

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Role

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NEW

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288


Th

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Cha

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.

289


lo

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mak

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ppor

ting

the

sect

or•

Learning

from

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xperience

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corp

orat

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CCA

into

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ns a

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.

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ards

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nsen

sus

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ess

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.

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outp

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for V

DC

and

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mm

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DC

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and

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t int

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DM

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ANNEx-6the climate change adaptation action plan presented at the VdC and ddC level sharing meetings

SN Adaptation Action Location Who When Support

1 Water source and pipeline protection Guranse Community NEWAH

2 Irrigation canal protection - pipe and plantation Guranse Community VDC, Irrigation office and DDC

3 Alternative water source conservation - plantation and gabion

Community VDC, DWSSDO

4 Community forestry user group formation Community Forestry office

5 Emergency fund & Saving Credit fund establishment Community Cooperative

6 Awareness about drinking water purification Community NEWAH

7 Practice of using latrine and stop OD Community NEWAH

8 Household and environment clean practice Community NEWAH

9 Hand Washing with soap and water practice Community NEWAH

10 Improve adaptive capacity of vulnerable households Household VDC, DDC and other support agencies.

11 Promote multiple use of alternative water sources to increase income

• Vegetable Production

• Fish farming pond

• Drip/micro irrigation

• Water Mill

• Peltric set

District Agriculture Office, Alternative Energy and DDC

12 Suspension bridge construction VDC, DDC

13 Improved cooking stoves Alternative Energy

14 WSUC registration NEWAH/ DDC

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ANNEx-7Assessment of programmes outcomes and whether they increase adaptive capacity

major programs and approaches Geographic and client focus Key outcomes increase adaptive capacity

WaSh Facilities

• Gravity Flow system

• Spring Protection

• Tubewell

• Hand Dug well

• Rain Water Harvesting

• Fog Water

• Water Connection

• Community Hygiene promotion and sanitation

• School hygiene and sanitation

• 51 districts (Technologies in water includes gravity flow system in the hills, ground water in Tarai, rain water in the hills and fog water in the Eastern hills)

• remote area,

• poor and socially excluded community groups

• access to water and sanitation facilities

• health improvement

• improvement of hygiene and sanitation practices and behaviour

• livelihood improvement

• increase enrolment in school

• reduce child morbidity and mortality

yes ALL

Training and capacity building at community level

51 districts • empowerment and capacity enhanced

• Sustainability

• Build up and ownership

• Increased paid job opportunities

multiple uses of Water Service/Domestic

• Drinking Water

• Micro hydro/Peltric set

• Water Mill

• Fish pond

• Sprinklers

• Recharge pond

• Cattle pond

• Irrigation pond

WASH program communities • increased livelihood opportunity

• improved health

Water Use Master Plan/VDC profile Working VDCs • Consolidated VDC water use plan

Capacity Building

of NGO and CBO

Local level • capacity enhanced

• institutional development

Advocacy and influencing National and local level • contribute to and influence policy formation

• sharing and reflection good practices

Emergency Support – responding to outbreaks of diarrhea

Anywhere • access to safe water,

• promoting hygienic and sanitary practices

Gender and social inclusion (inclusive development)

Mainstreamed in all areas and programmes

• equitable access to all drinking water

• pro-poor focus – grants and prioritised support

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ANNEx-8tools used and how they build adaptive capacity

tools How the tools engage the most poor and vulnerable.

How they empower people to access resources and services.

How they increase capacity to adapt to changes

Participatory Vulnerability Assessment

Poor and vulnerable have voice during the assessment process.

Poor and vulnerable people are informed, invited in the meetings and participate in the process.

Create awareness, encourage group effort, identify common actions based on reality.

Social Mapping Everyone (women, men, poor, dalit, youth) is invited to identify and verify the location of resources, physical facilities, hazards, households, services.

The people are involved in the discussion and decision making during this exercise.

Develop skills to reflect on existing situation, understand needs and encouraged to respond individual/ jointly.

Well being ranking with climate modification

Involvement of poor and vulnerable during the exercise.

Participatory consultation and consensus are the basis to engage poor and vulnerable.

It triggers the people involved in the process to set suitable (i.e. high, medium, low vulnerable) norms/ values for social justice to poor and vulnerable on the basis of local practices.

They suggest a process of putting the last (poorest and vulnerable) first. For example, in discussion, meeting, planning and forming safety net from within the community and outside.

Cause and effect matrix

Involved in identification of risk, preparation of inventory of risk and allow all the people to reflect on levels of adaptive effort that have been made in the past and predict the qualities of future responses.

Allowing people to discuss and decide: what can be done individually, what can be done jointly by communities locally and what should be proposed to supporting agencies (VDC, DDCs, NGOs, Donors).

It helps increase capacity to reflect on past climate effects and levels of response.

Focus group discussion using Venn diagrams and gateways diagram

During the discussion, the facilitator paid attention to listen to the women, youth, poor and vulnerable voices.

The people become comfortable expressing their views when they feel listened to and respected. They can then have confidence to raise their voice in other venues.

By engaging in the process of discussion, planning, and action implementation.

Timeline and Seasonal calendar

Asking people to express their experience, valuing everyone’s experience, see their views on large paper. Using pictures more than words.

Repeating the process to validate the information and ensure everyone understands clearly.

Through engagement in the process people develop confidence. Their experiences are validated and linked with wider trends, so then they feel they can ask for support.

Individual experiences are set in a wider context, part of a trend that can be analysed and logical changes made.

Participatory CC adaptive planning

Key informants to take the lead, these can be the most vulnerable.

Planning builds on all the other tools in which there has been wide participation.

Decisions are made by consensus at mass meetings.

Plans support and help formalise requests by communities to agencies that can provide services and support.

Systematically addressing the adaptation priorities. Provide a structure. Bring the community together to work on community solutions. Bring clarity about what requests to make outside.

Facilitation of informal and formal linkages and coordination

Help them to link with decision makers, help them to know that it is their right to ask for support or services.

Helps bridge the gap and allow them to feel able to ask for support or demand rights.

They access resources to support livelihoods or increase income. They access services such as health, education.

Progress monitoring They are involved in community level self monitoring.

They are clear about what has been achieved/provided and what has not. They can then ask for it.

They have capacity to asses progress and evaluate actions and thereby make better plans to adapt.

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m&e tools and objectives

What modifications made in the tool to address CA?

How the modification was made?

How easy/ flexible and effective was the modified tool?

How tools assisted increased awareness/ capacity?

How m&e is accountable to the P&V people?

Well being ranking

Obj: To find out the households vulnerable to climate hazards; to develop indicators of climate induced vulnerability; to have a baseline to compare against.

Questions for the criteria were asked from a climate vulnerability perspective. (Vulnerability included environmental and social factors.)

Categories remained three, but instead of being around poverty they were around vulnerability (high, medium, low)

It was easy to modify and carry out, and effective.

Focussed discussion on exactly which areas and households were vulnerable.

P&V were involved in categorisation and therefore determining criteria/indicators.

Outcomes were recorded and transparent so can be referred to.

Social mapping

Obj: to have a baseline to compare with in the future.

Add vulnerability to the map – both physical and social, both geographical areas and households

Through adding questions about vulnerability while the community prepared the map.

Easy.

Flexible to represent local conditions.

Awareness raised while discussing vulnerability

P&V present during mapping. Visual tool is inclusive. They can see changes when compared over time.

Community Self Monitoring Matrix

Obj: to monitor progress in implementing activities in community plan and changes in sanitation behaviour.

Climate adaptation components included in the existing CME tool

In consultation with field based staff and community new heading were added to the matrix.

The tool was easily modified on paper (but can not be added to flex sheet). It was easy for them to understand, but adds to the time required to do the process. Easy to do with individual communities, but takes time and resources to do with whole of NEWAH.

Increases awareness by being incorporated.

Capacity to self monitor enhanced through doing.

It gives an opportunity for P & V to comment on progress and voice issues.

Community output monitoring

Obj: to monitor completion of cc adaptation activities conducted in the community; to compare activities planned against those achieved.

Existing monitoring template used for cc adaptation activities related to WASH in community plan.

Matrix drawn up with community and field staff.

Easy to draw up and quick to mark off progress each month.

Monthly reminder of the importance of adaptation activities. Enhances capacity of community to monitor and reflect on progress – this will inform their planning for next year.

P&V involved in discussing and marking progress (if they attend).

ANNEx-9modification of planning and monitoring tools

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Exploring ClimatE adaptation mEChanisms for WatErshEd managEmEnt

submittEd toClimate Change Adaptation and Design Project Nepal (CADP-N)Lalitpur, Nepal

prEparEd byLocal Initiative for Biodiversity Research and DevelopmentGairapatan, Pokhara, Kaski

January, 2011

Exploring Climate adaptation mechanisms for Watershed management

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© Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD)P.O. Box 324, Gairapatan, Pokhara, Kaski, NepalTel: +977-61-535357Email: [email protected] Citation:Thapa K., G.B. Sharma, R.B. Rana, K. Lamsal, and S. Subedi. 2011. Exploring climate adaptation mechanisms for watershed management. Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal.

AcknowledgementsWe are thankful to all LI-BIRD staff for their contribution to this pilot and the report preparation. We appreciate Dr. Shreeram Prasad Neopane, Executive Director, LI-BIRD and Mr. Abishkar Subedi, Programme Director, LI-BIRD for their constructive input to refine the pilot and report. Our sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Deepak Rijal, Climate Adaptation Design and Piloting Nepal for his regular backstopping, and Ms. Sibongile Pradhan, Climate Adaptation Design and Piloting Nepal for her technical input during design and editing of this report. UK Department for International Development is acknowledged for the financial support for this piloting. Last but not least, we are thankful to the local community of the Rupa watershed for their local effort to successfully complete this pilot and achieve the results.

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1. Introduction 3011.1 General Context 3011.2 Project Context 3011.3 Institutional Context 302

2. Methodology 3032.1 Pilot Area – Geographic And Socioeconomic Overview 3032.2 Approach And Tools 304

3. Outputs / Findings 3063.1 Institutional Mechanisms 3063.2 Climate Change Adaptation Measures In The Watershed 309 3.2.1 Measures For Adaptation In Natural Resources 309 3.2.2 Measures For Adaptation In Agriculture 3103.3 Mechanism Of Service Delivery In The Watershed 312

4. Analysis: Towards Developing And Implementing A Lapa 3134.1 Including Climate Foresight Into Local Decision Making Process 3134.2 Assessing Vulnerability 3134.3 Prioritising Options 3144.4 Service And Finance Delivery Mechanisms 3154.5 Monitoring And Evaluation Framework 3164.6 Watershed Or Subwatershed As A Unit Of Lapa 317 4.7 Constraints to Developing and Delivering LAPAs 318

5. Conclusion 3195.1 Approach 3195.2 Tools 3195.3 Technology And Practices 3205.4 Synergy 3205.5 Institutional Mechanisms 3205.6 Financial Mechanisms 321

References 322Annex 1 323Annex 2 325

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Exploring Climate Adaptation Mechanisms for on Watershed Management was a pilot project, implemented by Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research, and Development (LI-BIRD), under the Climate Adaptation Design and Piloting Nepal (CADP-N) project mechanism supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ministry of Environment (MOE), Government of Nepal. The main objective was to explore mechanisms for the management a lake watershed through mainstreaming and mobilizing local institutions in the Rupa Lake Watershed in Kaski district of Nepal.

The pilot followed participatory approaches and tools for community consultation, orientation, community awareness, and scoping climate change and management issues at the watershed scale. The key indicators of climate change as perceived by local community are increased sedimentation, decreased agricultural performance and decreased agriculture workforce, due to intermittent rainfall increased and dry spells. Farmers have observed a shift, in rainfall period from June-August to July-September. Incidences of crop pests have increased with increased foggy weather and frequency of dry spell.

The pilot found that the communities have adopted several adaptation strategies and measures in response to climate change impacts. Reforestation of degraded and eroded land with fodder trees and forages, construction of gabions and loose stone check dams or split bamboo barriers, and bioengineering are some of the effective measures used for gulley control, and reducing soil erosion and sedimentation downstream. Strengthening market links is vital for community adaptation to the stresses posed by climate change. Assigning clear roles for different local institutions in managing ecosystem resources could be a milestone for developing community ownership. Broadening livelihood options through promoting income generating activities and improved market access for value-added products, promoting eco-tourism, and increasing access to information enhances adaptive capacity. Strategies that diversify livelihoods, provide options to the community, add value to their products, and link their products with the market have increased adaptive capacity, thereby making community more resilient to the climate change impacts. Promotion and adoption of organic farming, agroforestry systems, integration of legumes in the farming system (especially in rain-fed or upland farming systems), and promotion of crop varieties developed through decentralized breeding are all key agriculture initiatives to address drought and flood.

Cultivation of non timber forest products and strengthening networks for their market is another strategy to diversify livelihoods. Increased utilization and conservation of crop varieties through seed banks and field gene banks, identification and promotion of climate stress tolerant (particularly to drought, flood, and pest) underutilized crops in the farming system, integration of fruit in the farming system, and the integration of small farm animal species of local origin are adaptive strategies.

ExECUTIVE SUMMARy

A reciprocal benefit - sharing mechanism between upstream and downstream communities was found effective in sustaining the sustain management of ecosystem services against climate change impacts. It has increased access of poor and marginalized communities to local institutions, markets and has brought about a remarkable social change.

The mechanism of LAPA development and delivery should engage all local stakeholders and it must include the district and village level governmental agencies, community based organizations, private sector and civil society organizations towards building a public private partnership as a service delivery mechanism. The mechanism should assign defined roles for individual partners, the service providers. There should be a two way delivery mechanism of services in order to really enhance the adaptive capacity of the poor and climate vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

A bottom - up as well as top - down monitoring and evaluation mechanism should be in place and should be implemented as a balance that ensures the effective and efficient implementation of adaptation interventions in Nepal. A two-way mechanism of monitoring and evaluating the LAPAs should be in place, in the scale of a watershed or sub-watershed as the recommended unit of LAPA.

In order to design and implement the LAPA, a thorough review of existing national policy and plans needs to be carried outs to build climate foresights. Adaptation planning should be fully participatory. Political leaders, constitution assembly members and policy makers need to be regularly updated with climate knowledge along with the need of LAPAs and NAPA. Capacity building of stakeholders (local to regional and national level) on climate change issues is important to effectively and efficiently make LAPAs and implement them.

The learning and experience generated from LAPA pilots provides important feedback to the local and national development plans, programmes and policies. Involvement of the private sector, nongovernmental organizations and certainly the government institutions (development and academic institutions) is essential in order to successfully demonstrate public private partnerships to address climate change and develop adaptive capacity. Along with the local bodies, the local institutions including cooperatives and natural resource groups are potential entry points for designing and implementing LAPA.

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1.1 GENERAL CONTEXT

Climate change seriously affects every livelihood dimension of people in least developed countries such as Nepal. Among them, poor and marginalized people with few livelihood options are often the most vulnerable to climate hazards such as floods and droughts (IPCC, 2007). In this context, the developed nations have agreed, through international negotiations under the umbrella mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to support adaptation in the most vulnerable countries. Support is being provided under UNFCCC mechanism through the least developed country (LDC) fund, the special climate change fund (SCCF), and the adaptation fund. In order to access the LDC fund, these countries must have developed a National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) that identifies priority adaptation measures to meet urgent and immediate needs.

Nepal has recently prepared its NAPA through a country- driven, inclusive and programmatic approach. The document has identified districts in Nepal with overall vulnerability to climate change and vulnerability to specific hazards such as drought, flood, landslides, and glacial lake outburst flood. The document also prioritized nine combined project profile, based on adaptation strategies identified by six different thematic working groups(TWG) that cost about 350 million USD (MOE, 2010). Because of the varied microclimatic conditions of Nepal and its rugged topography, NAPA has suggested preparing Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA) to implement the most immediate and urgent adaptation needs prioritized by NAPA.

1.2 PROJECT CONTEXT

This exploration of climate adaptation mechanisms for watershed management is one of six pilot projects under the Climate Adaptation Design and Piloting (CADP) mechanism supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and Nepal’s Ministry of Environment (MoE). It has been designed to contribute to the generation of experiences of potential adaptation strategies at local level. It explores service and finance delivery mechanisms, mechanisms for involving poor and climate vulnerable communities through LAPA process, and integration of LAPA into development planning.

An ecosystem- based approach to natural resource management has been prioritized as a means to adapt to the effects of climate change at landscape level (MOE, 2010). In order to enhance adaptive capacity at watershed level, involving local communities with strengthened upstream-downstream linkages through various incentive mechanisms is seen as an effective strategy for sustainable management of natural resources and ensuring

INTRODUCTION

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livelihood security (Regmi et al, 2009; Pradhan et al, 2010). Exploring climate adaptation mechanisms in Rupa Lake watershed of Kaski district can provide insight for a model of community based adaptation alongside watershed management. It will ensure longer term ecosystem services (water regulation, food, fibre, fish stocks, crop landraces, erosion control, local employment opportunities, etc) of the fresh water resources, including habitats of aquatic flora and fauna, forests, Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP), birds, and wildlife through climate adaptation interventions.

This pilot project aimed to develop a participatory mechanism to manage a lake watershed through strengthened community initiatives for climate change adaptation to benefit the most poor and climate vulnerable, with the following purpose and objectives:

Purpose:Explore mechanisms for lake watershed management in order to facilitate climate change adaptation practices and strengthen management of the lake watershed through the involvement of local government and community based institutions.

Objectives:1. To assess the effectiveness of the existing

and potential climate change adaptation

measures (technologies and practices both local as well as intervened) in Rupa Lake Watershed.

2. To identify and pilot watershed level mechanisms (coordination, benefit sharing, and joint planning) to facilitate the adaptation initiatives.

1.3 INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

LI-BIRD is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization established in 1995 in Pokhara, Nepal. It is committed to capitalising on local initiatives for the sustainable management of renewable natural resources and to improving the livelihoods of resource poor and marginalized people. LI-BIRD has contributed to the development of several innovative methodologies and approaches for participatory research and development, and had impacts that have enhanced the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers through appropriate technological and policy changes. LI-BIRD is recognized nationally and internationally as a centre of excellence for its contribution to shaping national policy, and for developing and promoting good practices for on-farm conservation of agricultural biodiversity. Because of its impact-oriented approach and professional accountability, LI-BIRD has become a partner of choice for farming communities and organizations engaged in research and development in agriculture and natural resource management.

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METhODOLOGy

2.1 PILOT AREA – GEOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC OVERVIEW

The project was piloted in Rupa lake watershed of Kaski District, western development region of Nepal. Rupa lake is the third largest lake in the Pokhara valley. It is situated at an elevation of 600m asl (Kafle et al., 2008) and has an area of one square kilometre. The watershed shares its boundary with one municipality (Lekhnath Municipality: ward no. 9, 10, 11, 14) and three Village Development Committees (VDCs) namely Rupakot (ward no. 1, 3, 6, 8), hansapur (ward no. 6), and Majhthana (ward no. 4 and 5). The pilot area in general has experienced increased temperature and more erratic and intense rainfall over the past ten years, as perceived by local communities. As reported in the NAPA, the pre monsoon rainfall in some pockets of Western Nepal is decreasing, whereas the trend of monsoon rainfall is increasing. In addition, there is a trend of increasing post monsoon rainfall on southern aspects of hills in western Nepal (MoE, 2010). The NAPA document also shows moderate overall vulnerability of Kaski district to climate change. however, the district has high vulnerability to landslides due to increasingly erratic and intense rainfall (MoE, 2010). Rupa lake watershed is a popular tourist area. It is developing as an important agro-ecotourism destination. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people living in the watershed.

The area is accessible to markets through a motor-able gravel road. The major market centres are Gagangauda, Shishuwa, Begnas Lake, and Pokhara. There are a range of local institutions operating in the watershed including academic and community based institutions. There are 4 secondary level governmental schools, 15 primary schools, 17 community forest user groups, 12 youth clubs, 5 farmers groups, 18 women’s groups, 6 cooperatives, and 2 community based organizations (one focusing on farm production and the other for biodiversity conservation).

Impacts of climate change in the watershed are clearly observed in the lake ecosystem and the livelihoods of nearby communities (figure 1). A major indicator of

Figure 1Impact of climate change on the livelihoods and natural resources of the Rupa Watershed

BiophysicalEnvironmentDrought and Seasonal floodPest outbreak in cropsDrying of water sourcesLandslides and soil erosionIncreased rate of siltation

Socio-economicenvironment-impactDecreased crop productionMore families in debtIncreased youth migrationIncreased drudgery to womenInflux of un-sustainable technologies

WatershedDegradation

Increased temperatureErratic precipitationShift in winter and summer period

ClimateChange

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climate change in the lake is increased siltation, whereas an indicator for livelihoods is the decreased agriculture workforce and declined productivity due to prolonged drought and erratic rainfall. Weather pattern changes include erratic rainfall of high intensity and short duration, less cold days (shortened winter), increased foggy days and a lack of rain for the rest of the year. The major climatic hazards in the area are heavy precipitation, increased temperatures and prolonged dry spells.

During community consultations both downstream and upstream, farmers shared their experiences of current patterns of climate change of the area. They have experienced a shift in timing of monsoon rain (delayed onset) from June-August to July-September. Increased incidences of crop pests due to increased foggy days and prolonged dry spells have reduced agriculture performance. Fog during winter had an impact on the rice harvesting, threshing and drying. In the summer, higher temperatures have even resulted in the dying of fish. Intense and erratic rainfall, that resulted flash floods in natural springs including feeder streams of Rupa Lake,

coincided with agriculture practices that increased accumulation of soil and sand in the lake. During such flooding the extent of dying fish in the lake increases.

2.2 APPROACH AND TOOLS

The pilot used participatory approaches and tools for community consultations, orientation and capacity building during field piloting. Initially, the project identified its boundary actors (Table 1) which included individual farmers, their institutions, and local bodies (village development committees and the municipality). These boundary actors were the people and organizations with whom the project worked and expected to be able to influence behavioural changes that would result in increased adaptive capacity of households and ecosystems. During the piloting several community level workshops and meetings were organized to identify community perceptions on climate change and local response measures. One broad consultative workshop was organized at watershed level. During this workshop,

1 LI-BIRD had organized a climate integration workshop on June 20-15 in Begnas. During that workshop, participants were oriented on those tools to carry out climate risk assessments in the watershed by dividing them in 4 groups. During this pilot, information generated was used to identify the climate and livelihood contexts as well as vulnerability.

Table 1Boundary actors of the pilot and their desired behavioural change.

s.n. boundary actors behavioural Change(behaviour, relationships, actions, information)

1Community members(operating as household level)

Farmers/community members practice watershed management actions to respond to the impacts of climate change

Adopt climate change adaptation measures in agriculture and other natural resources to secure their livelihood

2

Community institutions (Cooperatives, farmers groups, mother groups, community forest user groups and youth clubs)

Community institutions organized to deal with climate variability by inclusively practicing adaptation options and mechanisms

3

Local government institutions:-Village Development Committees (Rupakot, hansapur, Majhthana)-LekhNath Municipality

Climate change adaptation mainstreamed in VDC planning Climate change adaptation mainstreamed in municipal planning

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all institutions active in the watershed were made aware of the issues and mechanisms of climate change, and current climate change adaptation practices in the watershed and practices that might help them respond to climate change. In addition, meetings and workshops were organized separately with upstream and downstream communities and local institutions. There were also focus group discussions and key informant interviews along with transect walks to identify existing and potential adaptation measures, and mechanisms for implementing adaptation plans through improved finance delivery mechanisms.

In addition, the climate and livelihood contexts of the watershed were assessed using CRiSTAL (community risk screening tool-adaptation and livelihoods). Tools such as the historical time line, hazard mapping, seasonal calendar, participatory transect walk, and vulnerability and adaptation matrix were used to assess vulnerability1. Community responses were assessed to understand the ways community respond to climate hazards. During focus group discussions, a cost benefit analysis was done,

along with multiple criteria and gender sensitivity analysis to identify and prioritise the most immediate and urgent needs of the communities. This process began with participatory discussion of existing and potential climate change adaptation options with the community. Then the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the adaptation options were scored by communities from zero to five (0 being no cost or no benefit, 1-2: low cost or low benefit, 3: medium cost or medium benefit, 4-5: high cost or high benefit (See Table 2). The prioritised adaptation options were then supported for piloting through local community institutions. During the community consultations, institutional mechanisms were identified to facilitate adaptation in the watershed. Some options that ensure active participation of vulnerable communities were then piloted in collaboration with the Rupa Lake Rehabilitation and Fishery Cooperative. Additionally, dialogues were initiated with the municipality, key community members and VDC secretaries to integrate local adaptation responses through the joint planning process.

Table 2Cost benefit analysis of the community prioritized adaptation options for watershed management.

Cost benetit→

activities↓

Cost (0-5) benefit (0-5)

Environmental Economic social Environmental Economic social

Promotion of minimum tillage operation

Plantation in the degraded and eroded land

Construction of

check-dams

Protection of

water sources

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3.1 INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL MECHANISMS

The pilot found some institutional and financial mechanisms in the watershed that facilitate adoption of climate adaptation practices and strengthen integrated management of watershed resources. The institutions in the watershed were found to have inclusive financial mechanisms to increase access of poor and marginal communities. The following institutional mechanisms were found to be inclusive of poor and marginalized communities including the disadvantaged groups, and able to mobilise watershed communities to implement climate adaptation interventions in the watershed.

A reciprocal benefit sharing mechanism between upstream and downstream communities was found to sustain management of ecosystem services against the impacts of climate change. In order to sustain the management of the lake by engaging all stakeholders of the watershed, a payment mechanism is in place.

A mechanism of payment for ecosystem services is established between upstream and downstream communities in the watershed. As expressed by the communities in the watershed, this mechanism is meant for the sustainable management of ecosystem services of the watershed. This mechanism has been facilitating climate change adaptation practices such as reforestation, check-dam construction and bioengineering to reduce soil erosion during rainy season. The mechanism of payment is voluntary and is in cash and kind. The Rupa Lake Rehabilitation and Fishery Cooperative downstream pays 20% of its total annual income to upstream community institutions (CFUGs) and academic institutions (primary schools) to implement climate proofed practices. The payment to schools is used for providing scholarships and organizing awareness raising programmes about biodiversity conservation. CFUGs are utilizing the payment in the management of community forests, with activities such as construction of check-dams and plantation in degraded forest areas.

Cooperatives increase market access to poor and marginalized communities and are thereby likely to bring social changes. The downstream cooperative provides jobs to the Jalhari community, who previously were dependent on the lake for their livelihood. Their children have been receiving scholarships from the cooperative. Such provisions have brought a social change in their lives by increasing income, educating them for conservation, and supporting their children’s education. Promotion of goat rearing by a cooperative in the upstream in collaboration with LI-BIRD has provided a source of income for the poor members of the community. In 2007, LI-BIRD, through a project funded by the Development Fund Norway, supported NRs. 15000 for 15 dalit households upstream in Lekhnath

OUTPUTS / FINDINGS

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Municipality-10. The project also supported them by paying for the share (each share costs NRs 500) so that they become the member of the Pratigya Cooperative. The individual members started rearing goats and poultry from money the project provided (NRs 1000 for each household) and the money borrowed from the Cooperative. At present, they have earned money from goat farming, bonus from the cooperative and they have paid the loan back to the cooperative. Mr. Bhim Bahadur Pariyar aged 65, who was involved in this scheme, changed his livelihoods totally from a plough man to goat farming. Now he has 7 goats and has already sold 6 male goats. Nowadays, his livelihood is sustained by the income from goat rearing.

i. A synergistic association of community

organizations and the development of social

cohesion is important for LAPA.

A number of community based and community led institutions are operating in the watershed. These include community forest user groups (CFUGs), cooperatives (with low share and high share values), mother groups, women groups, farmer groups, and youth clubs. The CFUGs are working actively to manage forests while Cooperatives are managing micro-finance for improved utilization, product development and marketing of natural resource based products. Several youth clubs are active in managing the watershed to ensure continuity of ecosystem services. Awareness activities by the youth clubs have decreased the threat to biodiversity (particularly for birds) from the children. Mother groups and women groups are responsible for maintaining sanitation in the community as well as conservation of specific local crop species. They are also involved in the management of biodiversity by conserving special

conservation blocks. Such institutional mechanisms at the local level have increased social cohesion in the community, thereby enhancing social assets to deal with climate change.

ii. Mobilizing community through group funds

helps strengthen ownership.

The Batabaran Sanrakshyan ra Samudaye Bikas Samiti (Environment Conservation and Community Development Committee) is a committee based in Lekhnath Municipality 11, Sundaridada (upstream). It was formed in 2007 to initiate conservation of biodiversity as well as support community development through income generating activities. In order to initiate conservation activities, LI-BIRD established a group fund of NRs.30,000 to mobilize the community for biodiversity conservation and support local initiatives that strengthen livelihoods. The committee has been loaning this money to the group members (up to NRs. 2000) with 12% interest rate. While providing loans they have a clause that the member taking the loan must pay half of the principal (to provide loans to other members also) with interest within sixth months and the remaining half by the end of the year. The members of this committee use this loan money for bee keeping (by 20 households) and local goat (Khari breed) by 8 households. Initially, they had planned to invest the loan for commercial vegetable production but were unable due to lack of irrigation and problems with monkeys. The committee has been contributing to conservation of orchids of the area in a conservation nursery where they have conserved 33 varieties of orchid. In addition, it has increased awareness in the community for biodiversity conservation.

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iii. Establishing market links for community

products through value addition, tourism and

access to information.

Some climate resilient development interventions are initiated by the downstream communities to promote ecotourism. They have constructed a green road with green plantation at the edges such as broom grass, narkat and bottlebrush. The green plantation at the edges is to reduce erosion of soil during erratic rainfall. Construction of the green road has enhanced access of the watershed community to the market and information. In addition, it has encouraged tourism in the area.

iv. Assigning separate roles to separate groups for

management of ecosystem resources effectively

develops ownership and coordination of efforts

at the local level.

In order to manage the lake resources, commercial fish farming is practiced by downstream communities. They also manage the lake biodiversity by establishing and maintaining different conservation blocks, which are assigned

Case StudyPratigya Cooperative in the Rupa Lake Watershed was established in 1997 with 43 share members. Conservation of threatened species, value addition of local crops and marketing them for their sustainable management is the priority of the cooperative. The major climate change impacts in the community are decreased agricultural production due to frequent and prolonged drought as well as erratic rainfall. In this context, conserving local drought tolerant underutilized crops, maintaining a diversity of crops in their field, and supporting the poor and marginal farmers to sustain their livelihoods are the key strategies that have enhanced members’ capacity to deal with drought and heavy precipitation. Value addition of local crops has enhanced their access to markets and information. The cooperative members have promoted marketing of anadi a local landrace of sticky rice, after the members realized the market potential for its medicinal, cultural, and traditional value; and marketing of taro products through value addition. Initially (in 1999), they hardly collected around 0.15 quintal of anadi rice but this reached 200 quintal in 2009/10. Similarly, they sold taro products of NRs. 15000 in 1999, whereas they earned NRs 35000 by selling the products in 2009/10. In addition, the members of the cooperative are maintaining field gene banks of different taro species and conserving medicinal and aromatic plants. The cooperative has in total 78 members; among them 38 are female, 6 are from a local food wholesaler (Shital Agro-products), and 15 are dalit community. Poor and marginalized community members also have membership and have been selling their rice and taro products through it. Every month, on 19th, each member of the cooperative contributes Rs. 50 to their revolving fund. Now days, goats are an important source of income to these households apart from taro and anadi. With the increased income, they are able to send their children to the school and are happily celebrating the festivals.

to be managed by mother groups, cooperatives, and women groups. In the different conservation blocks, they have conserved wild rice, local fish, wetland based flora (such as white lotus and kade simal), and birds. For example Jamunkuna Mother Group is responsible for conserving wild rice. Similarly, bird conservation is assigned to another mother group.

v. Cooperatives play a key role in making

financial provisions inclusive to benefit poor and

marginalized community members.

The current mechanisms operating in Pratigya Cooperative , upstream, is also a climate adaptive institutional mechanism. The cooperative has included the dalit and poor communities in their shareholding which has a low share value (NRs 500/-). In addition, they have supported these communities for goat farming and have also involved them in marketing other local products prepared from Aanadi rice, taro, and medicinal and aromatic plants. Local groups and microcredit schemes of various mother groups, farmer groups, CFUGs and youth clubs are important

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for increasing adaptive capacity. These groups must effectively participate both in planning and implementation of the LAPA. The downstream cooperative has also strategically supported poor and marginalized community members by offering employment. This Cooperative has also provided shares to poor and marginalized community members by deducting from their salaries.

vi. Provision of group shares is effective for

including poor and marginalized community

members in the cooperative’s scheme.

Because of the large value of the share (NRs. 15000/-), poor and marginalized community members are excluded simply because they are too poor to buy high value share. In this pilot a mechanism was introduced whereby group share was made available to include poor and marginal household members. It was endorsed through a series of meetings with cooperative members in the Rupa Lake Rehabilitation and Fishery Cooperative. Through the meetings, cooperative members agreed to amend the cooperative bylaws so that a group share can be sold. This pilot supported to the purchase of shares for two groups (one with 15 members and other with 25 members). Similar practice can be expanded through cooperatives that gradually include the marginal and fisher men dependent on traditional fishing.

3.2 CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION MEASURES IN THE WATERSHED

From discussions with community members, a number of techniques and management practices were identified as responses to the impacts of climate change. Local communities in the watershed have been adopting autonomous responses to manage natural resources and agroecosystem resources from the impacts of climate

change. In addition, there are institutional mechanisms and structures operating in the watershed that increase the adaptive capacity of communities to deal with climate change and the associated climate hazards. Communities that live in similar landscapes or a watershed have many things in common, both in terms of experiences of climate change and responses. Based upon the pilot assessments and observations of several practices, we recommend the following interventions to be integrated while preparing local adaptation plans of action.

3.2.1 Measures for natural resources adaptation to erratic rainfall and dry spellsi. Reforestation of degraded and eroded

land and plantation of fodder trees and forages on public and eroded land (for long term investment).

ii. Construction of gabions and loose stone check dams or split bamboo barriers (for short term investment).

iii. Bioengineering for gulley control and control of soil erosion.

iv. Promotion of minimum tillage.v. Protection of water sources.

The major climate risk to natural resources, as portrayed by the local community, is the erosion of soil and its deposition in the lake. The rate of siltation in the lake is expected to be further increased due to heavy and erratic precipitation/rainfall as a result of climate change. Watershed communities have experienced high erosion of soil in the degraded forest and pasturelands. In order to reduce the loss of soil and the resultant siltation in the lake, communities upstream are adopting reforestation in the degraded forest areas and eroded lands and are actively managing the forests by forming community forest user groups. People have started planting fodder and forrage such as napier, rai khanyu, amriso, narkat, badahar in the public and eroded areas. They have also initiated protection of water sources by planting and

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conserving the sources. Along with the plantation, they have constructed gabions, loose stone check dams, and split bamboo barriers to reduce stream bank cutting and check erosion by controlling run off. In the gullies and eroded areas, they have initiated bioengineering practices to control soil erosion. One of the main species to minimize loss due to flash floods is bamboo plantation along the bank of streams.

3.2.2 Measures for adaptation in agricultureThrough discussions with communities, key informant interview, and transect walks, it was found that households and communities are initiating a number of practices to respond to floods and drought. Some of these are autonomous and others promoted by LIBIRD and other institutions such as the District Agricultural Development Office (DADO), District Soil Conservation Office (DSCO), and CARE Nepal. During designing the LAPA and initiating adaptation on the ground, the strategies below were identified as effective in the pilot watershed. They were reported during discussions with cooperative members, representatives from community forest user groups, farmers’ groups, mother groups, and local community based organizations.

i. Organic farmingSome farmers were found to use well decomposed organic manure in the production system. They were also using organic pesticide made from cattle urine and other locally available plant materials (such as stinging nettle, artemisia, justicia) From such practices, they reported a number of benefits to the environment, especially for bee keeping and mitigating some drought as they had experienced the need for less irrigation.

ii. Agroforestry farming systemIntegration of fodder trees such as rai khanyu,

badahar, amriso, pakhuri, kauro, kutmiro,

phaledo, narkat and napier in the farming system has advance organic farming by supporting livestock rearing. In addition, this system has adapted well to the drought experienced by farmers.

iii. Legumes in the upland farming systemFarmers have found legumes such as cow pea, pigeon pea, rice bean, horse gram, black gram and soybeans to be drought-resistant and that their integration contributes to maintaining the yield from the production system. Farmers have experienced these crops to be most useful in the rain-fed farming system.

iv. Crops developed by participatory plant breeding and participatory variety selection Farmers are cultivating rice varieties such as Mansara 4 and Biramphul to adapt to drought, floods, and lodging in some parts of the watershed. In addition they are getting 20-30% more yield than from the local landraces of these varieties even in the context of climatic variability.

v. Cultivation and marketing of non timber forest products to diversity livelihoods and utilize marginal land Cultivation of non timber forest products, including medicinal and aromatic plants, has been initiated by a few members of the watershed community. The practice of cultivating medicinal plants has better utilized marginal farm land as well as linked local products to the nearby markets thereby diversifying sources of income. In the pilot area, a local healer, Mr. Jaya Bahadur Thapa2, has been linking those medicinal products with the market in Pokhara by making different treatment combinations for different diseases such fever, common cold, jaundice and gastric complaints.

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vi. Conservation of local crop varieties through seed banks and field gene banksMaintenance of local crop landraces is important to develop crops that perform well in a changed climatic context. Conservation of local landraces through seed banks and field gene banks was found in the pilot area. It was seen by households as a means of being prepared for and adapting to droughts, floods, and attacks of crop pests. vii. Identification and promotion of climate stress tolerant underutilized crops in the farming systemFarmers were found to have options of crops that are tolerant to climate stress such as drought, floods and pests. They have maintained cultivation of some drought tolerant neglected and underutilized crops in their home gardens. These crops and their species contribute to sustaining their livelihood in times of stress due to climate variability. In the pilot site, crops such as taro, yam, brinjal, local tomato, and legumes were found.

viii. Integration of fruit in the farming systemFarmers have integrated fruit like banana, litchi, jackfruit, pineapple, citrus, guava, pear, peach, and plum into their farming systems, especially in the home gardens. Integration of coffee has contributed to providing additional income, reducing soil erosion, and utilizing the farmland efficiently. The fruit trees are mostly perennial and resist drought and help stabilize the soil. In addition, they are a source of family nutrition and income to the farmers.

ix. Integration of small farm animals and their local breeds in farming systemsLivestock is an integral component of farming systems in the watershed. The rearing of small farm animals such as chickens, ducks and goats supports the livelihoods of poor and marginalized households. It has supported

farmers by promoting organic farming as they were using goat manure in their farms, promoting agroforestry to supply forage and fodder to the goats, and by diversifying income sources within agriculture (goat keeping along with vegetable farming and rice farming in small plots). Compared to the large farm animals such as cows and buffalo, integrating small stock such as local chickens, ducks and goats, the farming system has a reduced risk from climate hazards (Neopane et al, 2010).

x. Identifying and promoting income generating activities that are climate proof As a means of generating income, farmers are doing bee keeping and mushroom cultivation in the watershed. Though these businesses are climate sensitive, bee keeping and mushroom farming are an important source of income for the farmers. In some areas, farmers have started bee keeping on a commercial scale which has contributed to promoting organic farming in the area. In addition, such farming practices have enhanced social cohesion thereby increasing integrity in the management of watershed services.

Among those above mentioned interventions for agriculture and natural resources, the following interventions were found to be effective, through cost benefit and multi- criteria assessment in minimising the impacts of climate change in the watershed.

i. Promotion of minimum tillage operationii. Plantation on degraded and eroded landiii. Construction of check-damsiv. Protection of water sources

With this analysis, the pilot supported 8 community institutions in the watershed to initiate construction of check-dams, protection of water sources, and plantation of degraded and eroded areas.

2 During transect walk and field interactions, we had an interaction with him and observed his medicinal and aromatic plant farms and their products.

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3.3 MECHANISM OF SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE WATERSHED

From the discussion with watershed communities that included representatives from mother groups, cooperatives, community forest user groups, and poor and marginalized members and meeting with VDC and Lekhnath Municipality, the pilot identified a public private partnership (PPP) mechanism of service delivery as being appropriate for LAPA implementation. For this to be effective the roles and responsibilities of each actor need to be clearly defined, and they all

need to be involved in both planning and implementation. (Table 3). During the discussion, community members defined different roles for different stakeholders including district line agencies, NGOs and private sector. however, they represented themselves as the primary implementer of adaptation options, whereas the role of other partners were identified for joint planning, technical support and making market links. During the discussion, poor and marginalized community members asked for direct services of adaptation interventions to support their livelihoods, with minimal delay in the channelling of funds.

Table 3A mechanism of service delivery of the adaptation options in the watershed through a public private partnership (PPP).

Institutions→ Activities↓

Community and their institutions

VDC/ Municipality

DDC/line agencies NGOs Private

Sector


Implementing PlanningTechnical support (DADO, DSCO, DFO)

Technical supportMarketing the products


Implementing PlanningDFO and DSCO (provide seedlings and awareness raising)

NGOs provide seedlings

Construction of

check-damsImplementing

Financial support

Financial and technical support

Financial and technical support

Protection of water

sourcesImplementing

Planning and sup-port

Technical and financial support

Technical and financial support

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4.1 INCLUDING CLIMATE FORESIGHT INTO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

Raising awareness about climate change and its consequences can facilitate the integration of climate foresight into local planning. In addition, improved access to climate information and capacity building through local schools can potentially contribute to include climate foresight in local planning. Such information assists poor and vulnerable communities to prioritize their adaptation needs.

In the context of NAPA preparation and implementation, formulation of LAPAs and their efficient and effective implementation is crucial for climate-proofing local and national development. In order to include climate foresight in local planning, the proposed LAPA design should cover all aspects of climate vulnerability and adaptation options. This can be achieved through a thorough analysis of climate and livelihood context of the given area from a climate change perspective.

LAPAs will only be developed and implemented to benefit the vulnerable communities if they follows participatory, transparent and top-bottom and bottom-top planning and assessment approaches. The learning and experiences generated from LAPA development will provide important feedback to local and national development plans, programmes and policies. So, the mechanism of monitoring and evaluation should be seen as more integrated than in the present regular development plans and programmes. Since the national program (NAPA) is being implemented through local adaptation plans, representation of local people in monitoring and evaluation should ensure effective delivery of finance and services locally. This process will also build the capacity of all stakeholder involved with climate change issues.

4.2 ASSESSING VULNERABILITY

Participatory assessment of climate risk and hazards and their impact on livelihood resources of the communities is an important tool that needs to be considered while designing LAPA. Assessment of climate vulnerability and community based strategies can be achieved through social tools including time line, crop calendar, impact and vulnerability matrix, and assessing the access to and control over the livelihood resources by the communities. Other participatory tools and techniques can be used, such as historical time line, hazard mapping, seasonal calendar, crop calendar, vulnerability matrix, and impact and adaptation option analysis framework.

ANALySISTOWARDS DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A LAPA

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4.3 PRIORITISING OPTIONS

Cost benefit analysis combined with multiple criteria analysis was used to identify and prioritize adaptation needs. Before doing cost benefit analysis, the long list of adaptation options were prioritized by matrix or pair-wise ranking from the perspective whether these significantly contribute to reduce the impacts of climate change in the watershed. After the cost benefit analysis, gender sensitivity and addressing poor and marginalized community needs were the multiple criteria used to prioritize the adaptation options as shown in the table 4 and 5 below.

This tool was found effective from two perspectives. First, it saves time and money to prioritize adaptation options in a participatory discussion with community members, where community member can identify potential partners to support those activities that have a high cost. In addition it is useful for them to prioritize other developmental activities with some rational basis. Second, it also provides a quick analysis of how the community prioritises services provided by outsider organizations such as NGOs, the private sector and line agencies. however, it needs enhanced capacity for communities to estimate costs and benefits over longer periods.

Table 5Prioritization of adaptation options for watershed management by using multiple criteria along with cost benefit analysis in the pilot in 2010

Criteria→ Activities↓ B/C Gender sensitivity Reaching poor and vulnerable Total


4.33 4 (saves time and reduce drudgery) 4 (technologies can directly reach) =12.33


3.75 4 (saves time and reduce drudgery) 2 =9.75

Construction of check-dams 1.62 1 1 =3.62

Protection of water sources 2.14 3 (saves time and reduce drudgery) 3 (ensure water availability) =8.14

Table 4Cost benefit analysis of the prioritized adaptation options for watershed management in the pilot in 2010

Cost Benefit→

Activities↓

Cost (0-5) Benefit (0-5)

B/C Environ Economic Social Total Environ Economic Social Total


0 2 1 =3 5 4 4 =13 4.33


0 3 1 =4 5 5 5 =15 3.75

Construction of check-dams

1 5 3 =8 5 4 4 =13 1.62

Protection of water sources

0 4 3 =7 5 5 5 =15 2.14

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4.4 SERVICE AND FINANCE DELIVERY MECHANISM

With due consideration of NAPA implementation framework, experience of the pilot and that of LIBIRD, implementation of local adaptation actions should be based on ground reality. The mechanism should engage all local stakeholders and it must include district and village level governmental agencies, community based organizations, private sector and nongovernmental organizations, demonstrating a public private partnership (Figure 2). It should define the specific roles and responsibilities (i.e. services) that each partner should take into account while providing their services.

There should be a two-way delivery mechanism of service in order to really enhance the adaptive capacity of the poor and climate vulnerable communities and the ecosystems. This means that the mechanism should play a vital role in

establishing market links and increasing the access of vulnerable people to the basic services and service providing institutions. On the one hand, service providers must directly work with the community and their organizations to carry out or implement the specific adaptation actions, and on the other, they must be involved in building the capacity of community institutions which can become the entry point and who are the primary implementers of the adaptation actions.

In the given watershed, LAPA can be implemented through two types of community institutions. One way of delivering services is through the cooperative model and the other way is through natural resource groups. Cooperatives have established a unique mechanism to include poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable members in their marketing schemes. So, this pathway could provide an access to the poor and marginalized member of the community.

Figure 2The proposed mechanism of service delivery for the local adaptation plan of action.

Local Adaptation Plans of Action

A. Cooperatives:- Low share value (payable) Pro-poor responsive- High share value Group share and local employment

B. Natural Resource Groups:CFUGs, Farmer group, CBOs - Group fund establishment (saving/credit) - Fund mobilization for the watershed management

Nongovernmental organizations

On the ground work

DirectImplementation

Capacity buildingPlanningImplementation

Capacity buildingPlanningImplementation

District and village governmentline agencies: DADO, DLSO, DSCO, DPHO, VDC

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Furthermore, this model plays vital a role linking outcomes with the market, since income generation by selling local produce enhances the adaptive capacity of poor and climate vulnerable communities. In the later model, the adaptation actions that are associated with resource management (natural resources and agriculture) should be implemented through resource management groups such as community forest user groups, farmers groups, women’s groups, mixed groups, and youth clubs. This model also provides opportunities to reach the resource poor community members to include them in adaptation mechanisms. These two modalities of LAPA implementation can cover all existing institutions working in the given unit of implementation and helps bring a synergistic association among them. It helps to enhance the access of poor and marginal people to the market, information, institution, technology and resources to adapt to climate change.

4.5 MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK

In order to ensure an effective (in the sense it reaches to the climate vulnerable people, areas and systems) and efficient (in the sense it delivers quality output for the enhancement of adaptive capacity of those people and resilience of those areas and systems) implementation of adaptation interventions, a bottom-up as well as top-down monitoring and evaluation mechanism should be in place and operate in equilibrium. The learning generated at the bottom is important for national policy and programmes, meanwhile the scientific and technical backstopping from the top are critical for effective and efficient implementation.

In this context, based on LI-BIRD’s service and finance delivery mechanism, a two-way mechanism of monitoring and evaluating the LAPAs is recommended by this pilot (Figure 3). In order to ensure 80% fund flow to the local

Figure 3The proposed monitoring and evaluation framework of the local adaptation plan of action (Modified from monitoring and evaluation mechanism of LI-BIRD)

LAPA implementers(Service Providers)

Mon

itori

ng a

nd e

valu

atio

n

Plan

ning

& Im

plem

enta

tion

Poor, Marginaland Vulnerable

farmers andgroups

National Level SteeringCommittee

Local Level SteeringCommittee

District Level SteeringCommittee

317


level as well as coordinate LAPA preparation and implementation, a national level steering committee is needed to mainstream local experiences and learning on adaptation into national plans, policies, and programmes.

The district level adaptation steering committee must be at district level to coordinate with both central government and local stakeholders. This is vital for monitoring and evaluation of the adaptation programmes in the district (the same applies to municipal level). Based on the experiences and learning at the local level, it can influence district line agencies and non-governmental organizations to integrate the climate adaptation responses into their plans and programmes.

The local level committees, whether at the VDC or watershed level, are recommended for implementation of the LAPAs locally. They are responsible for mainstreaming adaptation responses in the VDC periodic plans as well as that of community institutions. In a nutshell, these committees are responsible for creating an enabling environment from national to local level for effective and efficient implementation of LAPAs.

Under these national to local level committees, a monitoring and evaluating team would need to be formed, or the existing group is given this assignment, to ensure LAPA are effectively planned and implemented. They must be able to provide technical and managerial input to the LAPA development process and those Who facilitate implementation. It must also ensure information from monitoring and evaluation feeds back into planning cycles. The team should engage expertise in various themes such as from technical and managerial expertise. For example, the team may comprise one community member, VDC secretariat, Planning Officer from District Development Committee, Municipality, experts from district agriculture, forestry,

soil conservation, health, and irrigation offices (including district level committee), and member from the national steering committee. During this process, if the team becomes too large, then the members can be involved alternately. The team can use the logical framework analysis of the LAPAs and service providers as a monitoring and evaluation mechanism. Based upon the logical framework of LAPAs and that of service provider, the monitoring can be done at activity, process and output level, whereas evaluation can be done at outcome level to measure the changes made in enhancing the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable communities.

4.6 WATERSHED OR SUBWATERSHED AS A UNIT OF LAPA

One of the important recommendations of the pilot is that the watershed or sub-watershed is the main unit of LAPA. A watershed or sub-watershed cuts across administrative boundaries such as districts or VDCs or municipalities. however, it shares a similar culture in terms of society and agriculture. Traditionally, there is a socio-cultural association between the communities of the watershed in terms of bartering goods and services. The natural resources of the watershed and the ecosystem services provided by the watershed are in one or another way related to every member within the watershed. The integrity and unity among the watershed communities also generates a better access to the market, information and service providers.

Within each watershed, LAPA can be implemented by mainstreaming the relevant adaptation priorities to the planning process of the VDCs, municipalities or districts. Even though the unit is the watershed, LAPA can be designed and implemented through the relevant VDCs.

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From the perspective of watershed management in response to the impacts of climate change, ecosystem based adaptation and the integrated management of agriculture, water, forest and biodiversity sectors through community based adaptation, and sustainable management of water resources are the urgent and immediate adaptation options as identified by Nepal’s NAPA. Working at watershed level addresses vulnerability contexts that are similar, thereby generating wider impacts on the livelihood of vulnerable communities cost effectively. In this context, based on the pilot and LI-BIRD’s experiences, the unit of LAPA should be watershed or sub-watershed to optimize efficiency, generate wider impacts, and enhance the adaptive capacity of the ecosystem and communities.

4.7 GAPS TO DEVELOPING AND DELIVERING LAPAs

i. A thorough review of existing national policy and plans need to be carried out and updated on the basis of climate foresight. This will also facilitate integrating climate change responses in to the district and local planning process.

ii. A top-down and bottom- up planning process needs to be made while designing LAPA, rather than only top-down or only bottom-up. It should start with community adaptation needs, and identification of their roles and the roles

of key stakeholders. Through this local ownership can be ensured.

iii. Given, the political context of the country is in transition and there is a rapidly changing government and its related professionals, formulation and implementation of LAPAs will be difficult if an understanding of climate change, NAPA, and LAPA is not clear at the national level. In order to avoid such constraints, the political leaders, constitution assembly members and policy makers need to be regularly updated on climate change progresses, the needs of LAPAs and NAPA implementation.

iv. In the context of non-functioning VDC structures, the service delivery mechanisms and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms could be used effectively to operationalize the LAPA and implement NAPA in partnership with private sector organizations.

v. Capacity building of stakeholders (local to regional and national level) on climate change issues is very important to effectively and efficiently prepare LAPAs and implement them. The framework and the delivery mechanisms along with trained human resources need to be prepared to translate policies into action. This needs to be taken into consideration while designing and implementing LAPA in the watershed context.

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CONCLUSION

Based on the outputs and analysis of this pilot, the following approaches, tools, practices, coordination mechanism, institutional mechanisms and financial mechanisms are recommended for designing LAPA for a watershed or a sub-watershed (Figure 4).

5.1 APPROACH

The overall development of LAPA should follow a participatory and multi-partnership approach. It must ensure the participation of local communities and their institutions at every step of planning and implementation. The vulnerable communities identified during climate risk assessment must be central during planning and implementation of LAPA. In addition, the planning and implementation of LAPA needs to be based on livelihood assets (natural, physical, social, financial and human assets) and it must include options and mechanisms that diversify the use of these resources and increase the access of vulnerable communities.

5.2 TOOLS

i. Different participatory tools and techniques can be used to identify the current and future climate hazards, their risks and impacts, and current and potential adaptation options. These include historical time lines, hazard mapping and prioritization, seasonal calendars, cropping calendars, vulnerability matrix, and impact and an adaptation option analysis framework. The climate and livelihood context of the area can be assessed by using CRiSTAL.

ii. In order to assess the access of communities to livelihood assets and basic services, the gateway system concept is useful. Gateway system analysis, if done with active participation of local decision makers, can be used to inform adaptation planning and increase the inclusion of marginalized people in planning and implementation of activities that increase local resilience to climate effects.

iii. Cost benefit analysis along with multiple criteria ranking is also a useful tool to prioritise implementation of identified adaptation options and develop synergy among the stakeholders. Based on this analysis, communities and local planners can distribute the roles and services to each stakeholder including communities. For example, they can take assistance from outsiders (NGO, government line agencies, etc) to those interventions that bear high cost and high benefit, which they cannot afford. For interventions with less cost and high benefits, local communities can initiated them and also can match activities introduced by outside organisations.

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5.3 TECHNOLOGY AND PRACTICES

The following technologies and practices are recommended for LAPA at watershed level.

Adaptation strategies related to natural resources i. Reforestation of degraded and eroded

land and plantation of fodder trees on public and eroded land (for long term investment)

ii. Construction of gabions and loose stone check dams or split bamboo barriers (for short term investment)

iii. Bioengineering practices for gulley control and control of soil erosion

iv. Promotion of minimum tillagev. Protection of water sources

Adaptation strategies in agriculture i. Organic farming ii. Agroforestry farming systems iii. Integration of legumes in rain-fed or

upland farming systems iv. cultivation of crops developed by

participatory plant breeding and participatory variety selection

v. Cultivation and marketing of non timber forest products to diversity livelihoods and utilize marginal land

vi. Conservation of local crop varieties through seed banks and field gene banks

vii. Identification and promotion of climate stress tolerant underutilized crops in the farming system

viii. Integration of fruit in the farming system ix. Integration of small farm animals and

their local breeds in farming system x. Identification and promotion of climate

proof income generating activities

5.4 SYNERGY

Every actor including each household of the watershed should be engaged in design and implementation of LAPA. It also requires national guidance and

support. At national level there should be a national steering committee. A coordination committee at district or watershed and at VDC level should be in place to monitor and evaluate the outputs and outcomes of LAPA. A public private partnership should be demonstrated during LAPA development and implementation that can develop synergy among the stakeholders in the given watershed and link its services and products to the market or outsiders.

While designing and implementing LAPAs, it is very important to define whether the local unit is at VDC, district, watershed or sub-watershed level. LIBIRD recommends, from pilot and wider experience, a watershed or sub-watershed as the main unit of LAPA. This is recommended as appropriate for cost effective planning and implementation of the adaptation strategies, for good representation of the strategies that address vulnerability, and for integrated management of watershed services and natural resources. This will enhance the collaboration among the local institutions (government, community based and nongovernmental) operating in the watershed, by developing synergistic associations to respond to the impacts of climate change. It will also ensure wide ownership of the plan and its smooth implementation.

5.5 INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS

i. LAPA should integrate a reciprocal benefit sharing mechanism between upstream and downstream communities to initiate and sustain management of ecosystem services from a climate adaptation perspective. It can increase access of communities to markets and bring about livelihood and social change.

ii. A synergistic association of community organizations and development of social cohesion is important for LAPA development and implementation, and can

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Figure 4A prototype of LAPA at watershed level demonstrating tools, approaches, and service delivery mechanism.

be brought about by defining clear roles and responsibilities. Assigning separate roles to separate groups for management of ecosystem resources is fruitful and effective to develop ownership.

iii. Institutions can support adaptive capacity through promoting group funds (micro-credit) to mobilize communities around climate adaptation and develop ownership of the interventions implemented.

iv. Institutions should promote private sector involvement to establish market opportunities for the products from the community as this is crucial to adapt to the impacts of climate change through value addition, tourism, and information access.

5.6 FINANCIAL MECHANISMS

Under the supervision and coordination of district and local level committees, LAPA financing should reach vulnerable communities from service providers (government line agencies, NGOs and private sectors) by two paths. One is through local cooperatives that operate to mobilize funds and market their products. The other is through natural resource management groups that operate to conserve and manage natural resources of the locality for sustainable livelihoods.

LAPA

LAPA Service Providers:Districtline agencies, DDC,

municipality, VDCs, NGOs, andPrivate sector

Partcipatory toolsTime lineMappingRanking

Vulnerability matrixGateway system...

Partcipatory and partnership approach

Join planning and implementation

Diversifying livelihoodoptions (natural, physical,

financial, social, and human capital)

Natural Resource Management Groups(CFUGs, farmers groups, youth clubs,

women groups)

Cooperatives(high share value and

low share value)

Watershedor

Sub-watershed

Adaptation options in naturalresources

Adaptation options inagriculture

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MOE. 2010. National adaptation programme of action (NAPA) to climate change. Ministry of Environment, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal

Pradhan, N., I. Providoli, B. Regmi and G. Kafle. 2010. Valuing water and its ecological services in rural landscapes: A case study from Nepal. Mountain Forum Bulleting Page 27-29. Downloaded from http://www.mtnforum.org/rs/bulletins/counter_bul.cfm?bID=31 [retrieved on 24 Jan 2011]

Regmi, B.R., G. Kafle, A. Adhikari, A. Subedi, R. Suwal, and I. Poudel. 2009. Towards an innovative approach to integrated wetland management in Rupa Lake Area of Nepal. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning Vol. 2(4), pp. 080-085, April, 2009. Downloaded from http://www.academicjournals.org/jgrp/PDF/PDF%202009/Apr/Regmi%20et%20al.pdf [retrieved on 24 Jan 2011]

Neopane, S.P., K. Thapa, R. Pudasaini, and B. Bhandari. 2010. Livestock: an asset for enhancing adaptive capacity of climate vulnerable communities of Nepal. Paper presented in the Consultative Technical Workshop on Climate Change: Livestock Sector Vulnerability and Adaptation in Nepal organized jointly by Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), heifer International (hI) Nepal, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), and Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), Government of Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal. (In Press)

REFERENCES

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ANNEx 1

Action Plan for Rupa Lake Management and DevelopmentDuring the pilot, stakeholders at community and district level participated in the development of a conservation and management action plan for Rupa lake including the lake, wetland and watershed area. The details of Rupa lake and watershed management action plan to minimize existing problems are given below-

Action plan for lake management

• Plantationofinlakeshorelineandvicinityofthelakearea• WhitelotusconservationinBimirekunaandChatrepangandinitiateitsmarketing• LocalfishdiversityconservationatKharbariTunda• Breedinghabitatconservationoflocalfish,SaharatInletofRupaLake• Marketmanagementoflocalandimprovedfishes• Lakecleaning(waterhyacinth,waterchestnut,Kalojhau,woodenlogs)• Identification,documentationandconservationoflakebiodiversity• Implementmanagementactivitiesinaparticipatorywaywhichinvolvesrepresentation

from lake and watershed communities (eg. Ama Samuha, Local Clubs, organizations etc)• Damconstruction• Canoeingandboatingtopromotetourism• ConstructionofsuspensionbridgeatSangre• Sedimentationpondconstructionatlakeinlet

Action plan for wetland management

• Lakeareademarcationonthebasisofsurveycarriedin2032BS(takeinitiativesforthelake demarcation in coordination with local government body and community)

• Alternativemanagementplanningforencroachedland• Greenbelt(Suitablegrassplantation-Narkat,Bains),foottrailandrestingplace

construction around Rupa lake to promote tourism• Wildriceconservationblock• Improvehabitatofbirds• ControllinggrassbulksatJamankunaandSaathifordeclaringaconservationarea• Declaringhuntingrestrictionsitesaroundlake• Identification,documentationandconservationofwetlandbiodiversity• Wetlandbiodiversityinformationcentreestablishment• Promotepublicityandresearch

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Action plan for watershed management

• Plantationofatlandslideanderosionproneareasandstreambanksbyproviding fodder/forage and grasses (eg Amriso)

• Terraceimprovementandhedgerowplanting• StreambankandgullycontrolatBhangarakuna,SanoandThuloPhadi,

Teenmule, Bandre, Rumto, Kathebangro, Jimire and Kuna khola through Bio-engineering and biological check dams

• Coordinateandlinkwithstakeholdersandotherlineagenciesforconstructingcheck dam

• ImplementIGactivitieslikecoffeecultivation,beekeeping,goatrearing,amriso,Jai grass, Nigalo, Bans, fruits and vegetables cultivation

• Orchidandmedicinalplantscultivationandmarketdevelopment• TrainingsonIGA,sustainableagriculturedevelopmentsystem• Encouragetherationaluseofbio-fertilizersandbio-pesticidesandcreate

awareness on hazardous effects of chemicals in the environment and lake ecosystems

• Controloverthehouseholdgarbageandmanageittowardscompostmaking• Controlovergrazingandstopopengrazingaroundthestreamandlake

shoreline • MobilizeForestusersgroupinconservation• ExtendRupalakeconservationandmanagementawarenessprogramin

watershed area• Promotevillagetourism

Other activities

• Implementprogramsthatincreaseawarenessofconservationandencroachment

• Educateschoolchildrenonlakemanagementandconservation• Developamanagementstrategytoimplementingactivitiesthroughcommittee

formulation with involvement of various local institutions• DevelopanetworkofGovernmentandnon-governmentorganizations

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ANNEx 2

Activities that LIBIRD would carry out to build on the work of the pilot.

S.N. Further LAPA Development Activities Theme (Watershed/Agriculture)

1Bioengineering for gulley control and control of soil erosion

Watershed

2 Promotion of minimum tillage operation Watershed

3 Protection of water sources Watershed

4Construction of gabions and loose stone check dams or split bamboo barrier (for short term investment).

Watershed

5 Plantation in the degraded lands Watershed

6 Organic farming Agriculture

7 Legume integration and promotion Agriculture

8 Promotion of stress tolerant species Agriculture

9 Running a CADSchool For capacity building

10Group share and group fund to poor and marginalized community members

For capacity building and mobilization

11 Cultivation of NTFPs in marginal lands Watershed/Agriculture

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IdentIfyIng the Role of local fInancIal InstItutIons In fInance delIveRy, goveRnance and PlannIng In develoPIng the caPacIty of communItIes to adaPt to clImate change

Identifying the Role of local financial Institutions in finance delivery, governance and Planning in developing the capacity of communities to adapt to climate change

submItted toClimate Change Adaptation and Design Project Nepal (CADP-N)Sanepa, Lalitpur, Nepal

submItted byRural Self-Reliance Development CenterBaluwatar, Kathmandu

February, 2011

ExEcutivE Summary

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the link between poverty and environmental degradation is direct, and the poor are often the most vulnerable to climate change. Nepal’s daunting development challenge is to ameliorate the socio-economic and climate plight of the poorest and most marginalized people. Without addressing the needs of vulnerable communities directly in local level planning, national climate adaptation policies and programmes are likely to be ineffective.

rSDc has been working in poverty alleviation over the last two and a half decades through the philosophy of self reliance, and implementing Self-reliant Poverty alleviation (SPa) and Self-reliant Development of the Poor by the Poor (SDPP), through social mobilization and grass roots self-help institution building. in this context, rSDc has been involved in piloting Local adaptation Plans of action (LaPa) development in Kapilbastu and Kalikot districts to see climate adaptation through the poverty lens, and poverty through the climate adaptation lens with regard to finance delivery mechanisms and local level planning.

the overall objective of the pilot was to identify the role of Local Financial institutions, particularly cooperatives, as mechanisms for finance delivery to increase the adaptive capacity of poor and climate vulnerable communities. Kapilbastu and Kalikot had been identified as vulnerable districts in the NaPa document. Both districts have massive poverty, inequality and an agrarian economy which is vulnerable to climate change hazards. the pilot activities took place through two local self-reliance cooperatives.

the following activities took place during the pilot implementation process: mapping of service and finance delivery institutions, assessment of governance and participation of vulnerable communities, climate awareness raising, review of existing planning processes, and development of adaptation plans for mainstreaming into local level planning. village Development committee (vDc) level gateway systems information was also collected and analyzed by an expert team. this was followed by a series of consultation workshops which verified the gateway systems through shared learning dialogues and also identified local level planning issues and responsibilities. tools were used to effectively identify vulnerable communities, assess their needs and deliver resources and services to them. rSDc also identified good practices for reaching vulnerable communities outside its working areas, and constructed two micro-structures to demonstration local climate adaptation infrastructure. the cooperatives involved in the pilot developed new climate adaptation policies and programmes, such as a community insurance/compensation mechanism and an investment policy to enhance community adaptive capacity to cope with the impacts of climate change.

the pilot concludes that in the case of Nepal, poverty alleviation programmes and activities are the only way to address the climatic hazards and risks faced by rural communities. the self-reliance working modality that identifies the most poor and vulnerable communities and forms hamlet or interest group based organizations, and vDc level cooperatives could be key entry points for local climate adaptation. Self-reliance cooperatives have the capacity

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and expertise to: improve governance, demonstrate transparent and accountable policies and decision-making processes, mainstream issues of the poor into programmes and policy, involve communities in local level planning, empower communities, share information, and build community trust and involvement.

the cooperatives provide a wide range of financial and other community development services that are focused on the poorest households. Self-reliance cooperatives were found to be practicing different methods of property evaluation for loan approval so that the poorest community members could borrow without collateral. they have established a risk fund for emergencies caused by climate and other uncertainties. micro-insurance has also been identified as an important component of future action for climate adaptation. innovative risk sharing mechanisms are needed to respond to the new challenges, including increasing frequency of extreme events, land degradation and loss of biodiversity. Self–reliant cooperatives are an established mechanism for finance delivery and it is therefore proposed that they are an effective institution for LaPa implementation.

Wider programmes of the cooperatives cover health and hygiene, income generation, drinking water and irrigation, improved agriculture and livestock, education, enterprise development, job-orientated skill development and building micro-infrastructure. Self-reliant cooperatives are recognized as a cost effective local institution for implementing any community development activities. they were found to be the bank of the poor and vulnerable, capacity building partners, market promoters, governance teachers and planning advisors. they were found to be a reliable mechanism for planning and implementing any community level activities. their role has been significant over recent years, particularly in the absence of the people’s representatives at vDc level. Likewise, they access and channel the resources of district level agencies such as the District agriculture Office, District Livestock Office, and District Health Office to the poor at village level.

the report concludes with a prototype LaPa development and implementation design for the micro-finance sector through Local Finance institutions and details how rSDc will take forward and scale out the LaPa pilot work into other areas.

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Introduction 3331.1 Pilot objectives 334

Methodology 3352.1 Background of the Kapilbastu pilot area 3352.2 Background of the Kalikot pilot area 3362.3 approach and tools 3362.4 methods 3362.5 tools 3372.6 Boundary actors 337

Outputs / Findings 3383.1 Swabalamban and climate adaptation 3383.2 reaching the poorest and most vulnerable communities 3403.3 vulnerability assessments 3413.4 Finance delivery mechanism of Self reliance cooperatives 3413.5 Finance delivery status of Kapilbastu 3423.6 Fund mobilization at Jankalyan cooperatives Kalikot 3433.7 Self-reliance cooperative loans and adaptive capacity 3433.8 capacity building for livelihood diversification 3433.9 assessment of service delivery mechanisms of self reliance cooperatives 3443.10. raising awareness of climate change and adaptation 3443.11. Promotion of pro-poor governance, transparency and cost effectiveness 3453.12. Sustainability and democratization processes 3453.13. involvement in local level planning 3463.14. Scaling up the rSDc experience in rimS and iSEt pilot areas 346

Analysis 3474.1 using climate foresight in local decision-making and planning processes 3474.2 including the priorities of the most vulnerable in planning adaptation responses 3474.3 assessing vulnerability 3484.4 Prioritizing options to increase adaptive capacity and turning them into plans 3484.5 mainstreaming vDc adaptation plans into district development plans 3484.6 Building capacity of communities to reach up and draw down resources 349

taBLE OF cONtENtS

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4.7 monitoring and evaluating changes in adaptive capacity 3494.8 institutional mechanisms 3494.9. Downward accountability 3504.10 Sr cooperatives as a mechanism for LaPa finance delivery 3504.11 Scaling-out and scaling-up to other institutions 3514.12 measuring effectiveness, monitoring and evaluation tools and indicators 3514.13 Barriers and gaps to developing and delivering LaPa 352

5. Conclusion: Proposed LAPA design for the micro-finance sector through LFIs 3535.1. Proposed structure and methodology for LaPa development and implementation. 353

References 355

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iNtrODuctiON

Nepal is very much in the grip of poverty, which is evident by almost half the population living below the absolute poverty level. the toll of such poverty is heaviest on vulnerable communities, in particular those who are also vulnerable to climatic hazards. Nepal’s daunting development challenge is to ameliorate the socio-economic and climatic plight of these poor people.

Nepal is highly at risk from the detrimental impacts of climate change. this is largely due to its fragile mountain ecosystems, low socio-economic status and heavy reliance on rain-fed agricultural production. With poverty being both a condition as well as a determinant of vulnerability, alleviation is imperative in resilience building activities. a starting point for such an exercise is to understand the assets and capabilities of the poor.

as defined by the intergovernmental Panel on climate change, adaptation means ‘adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities’ (iPcc, 2001). Nepal has developed a National adaptation Plan of action (NaPa) which includes a priority list of adaptations, identification of key adaptation needs and a list of top priority adaptation response measures. to address these, local level adaptation plans, programmes and activities need to take place. the climate adaptation Design and Piloting – Nepal (caDP-N) team initiated the localization of the NaPa through a Local adaptation Plan of action (LaPa) design and piloting process.

the rural Self-reliance Development centre (rSDc) works to alleviate poverty and reduce vulnerability, and supports the ultra-poor in stepping out of poverty by themselves. it is pioneering the development and implementation of ‘self-reliant poverty alleviation’ (SPa) and ‘self-reliant development of the poor by the poor’ (SDPP), through social mobilization and grass roots self-help institution building. it has two and half decades of experience as well as proven organizational efficiency in the arena of self-reliant poverty alleviation and self-reliant development (See annex 1 institutional assessment of rSDc for details.)

rSDc piloted local climate adaptation initiatives and mainstreaming mechanisms from September to December 2010 in Kapilbastu and Kalikot districts. the output of the pilot is recommendations for the national design of Local adaptation Plans of action (LaPa). it was decided at the LaPa design inception workshop (18-23 august, 2010) that intervention areas by rSDc for climate adaptation piloting should focus on mechanisms of finance and service delivery to poor and vulnerable communities and their integration into local level planning.

the following activities took place during the pilot implementation process: mapping of service and finance delivery institutions; assessment of governance and participation of vulnerable communities; review of existing planning processes; and development of adaptation plans for

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mainstreaming into local level planning. this involved a two stage process. First, village Development committee (vDc) level gateway systems information was collected and analyzed by an expert team. Second, rSDc identified good practices of reaching vulnerable communities outside its working areas, and built two local micro-infrastructures which were designed to demonstrate climate adaptation infrastructures to local communities. additionally, the cooperatives involved in the pilot have developed new climate adaptation policies and programmes, such as a community insurance/compensation mechanism and an investment policy to enhance community adaptive capacity to cope with the impacts of climate change.

During this process, a series of consultation workshops were organized to verifying the gateway systems through Shared Learning Dialogues (SLD) and to identify local level planning issues and responsibilities. at the end of the pilot, mechanisms were identified that effectively recognize vulnerable communities, assess their needs and deliver resources and services to those vulnerable communities.

1.1 Pilot objectives

the overall objective of this pilot was to identify the role of Local Financial institutions, particularly cooperatives, as finance delivery mechanisms for increasing the adaptive capacity of poor and climate vulnerable communities. the specific objectives were to:

• IdentifytheroleofLocalFinancialinstitutions (LFis), particularly cooperatives, as finance delivery mechanisms .

• Assessthecontributionofselfreliancecooperatives to local good governance.

• Assesstheinvolvementofcooperativesin local level planning as a means of mainstreaming climate change and increasing the climate adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities.

• Learnfromtheexperienceofthepilot and share lessons for design and implementation of the LaPa Process.

in addition, rSDc shared its experience and expertise on reaching the poorest communities and promoting cooperatives to two other LaPa piloting partners: iSEt Nepal in Kapilbastu and rimS Nepal in Dhading.

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mEtHODOLOgy

the LaPa pilot was carried out with the manakaman Self-reliance cooperative of Shivagadi vDc, Kapilbastu and the Jankalyan Bahudeshiya cooperative of Kumalgaun in Kalikot. these areas are highlighted on the maps below. Both districts have high levels of poverty and inequality, combined with an agrarian economy, which makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

2.1 Background of Kapilbastu pilot area

Kapilbastu is located in the central terai plains of the western development region with an area of 1,738 km2. the district adjoins a hilly area to the North and india to the South. the climate is tropical and the temperature ranges from an average minimum of 6°c to an average maximum of 42°c. the region has an annual average rainfall of 1,285 mm. agriculture is the main source of livelihood and the major crops in the district are rice, wheat, oil seeds and maize for subsistence, and sugar, banana and vegetables for marketing. Forest and pond resources are also important for livelihoods. the district is one of the least developed districts in the country with a Human Development index of 0.286, compared to the national figure of 0.325. Physical infrastructure, such as electricity, roads and schools, is poor in the district. Kapilbastu is considered highly vulnerable to floods and drought; every monsoon many village areas are affected.

the NaPa vulnerability map shows that Kapilabastu and Kalikot are both on the list of districts that are most vulnerable to different climate risks. However, the vulnerability mapping method used in NaPa is not universally accepted in terms of methodology, calculation and weights given to the indicators. there is still a need to analyze the vulnerability mapping using an internationally accepted methodology.

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the pilot was conducted in Shivagadi vDc, one of the most conflict and flood affected vDcs in the district. it lies between two rivers, the Surahi Khola and chirahi Khola. the population is around 5000, most of whom have migrated from the hills and other parts of the terai looking for agricultural land and forest resources for their cattle.

2.2 Background of Kalikot pilot area

Kalikot is one of the five districts in the Karnali Zone of the mid-western development region. the annual precipitation of the pilot area is about 1,000 ml to 1,500 ml and annual temperatures range between -1°c to 33°c. Kalikot is one of the most remote districts of Nepal and is affected by landslides, drought and water scarcity. according to information published in 2003, Kalikot has a human development index value of 0.15247, ranking 69 out of 75 districts in the nation. about 69% of people depend on subsistence agriculture. Nearly 18% of land is cultivated and much of the remaining land is degraded rock-lined hills. Forest covers 57% and grass and bush covers 26% of the total area. according to cBS data, the average sized land holding is about 1.3 ha and suitable for only one crop a year.

Farmers in the district plant fruit trees for commercial purposes, but the lack of transportation means they cannot market the products effectively. People residing in high areas of the district are involved in the preparation of woollen goods such as carpets and blankets to supplement their agricultural income. Other off-farm employment includes being a porter, masonry, trade, carpentry and tailoring for people residing in the lower areas. much of the population migrate to india as seasonal porters and for construction work.

Despite the difficulties, there is high scope for off-season vegetable production for both local and outside markets. green vegetables are currently imported from Nepalgunj by tractor and farmers with easy access to the district headquarters have already started vegetable farming. two banks operate in the district, but generally external support, including government services, is insufficient.

2.3 Approach and tools

Sources of Informationinformation required for the pilot has been gathered from secondary and primary sources using different tools.

Secondary Information: the pilot began with a desk review of the cooperatives’ activities, plans and various progress reports. the information gathered was verified in the field.

Primary Information: the main data for this pilot was gathered from primary sources such as SLD with stakeholders and beneficiary households. in order to collect qualitative and quantitative information on program accomplishments for the gateway system analysis, a community survey was prepared.

Site Selection: the selection of pilot vDcs was based on the following criteria: (1) History and geography of climate related hazards and risks (2) availability of services (3) poverty (4) cooperatives’ performance.

2.4 Methods

First Stage: an orientation workshop was organized for the local self-reliance cooperative board, other networks and organizations, like FEcOFuN and irrigation

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committees, and for the field support staff involved in collecting gateway system information. these trained local staff went to each ward, which is defined as a community in this pilot, to collect gateway information through interaction with local communities. gateway system field data was tabulated, and analyzed and ranked at the iSEt office in Kathmandu.

Second Stage: a series of meetings was organized among stakeholders, particularly cooperative leaders, political party representatives, vDc representatives, local government officials, other community level institutions and organizations such as FEcOFuN and Women’s groups. information gathered from the gateway system analysis was confirmed by community members using SLD. at the end of the community level workshop, potential climate adaptation activities were listed for adaptation planning along with identification of the responsible institutions.

Third Stage: climate change workshops with communities lead to the identification of demonstration plots for climate adaptation in their respective communities. at end of the process, a draft adaptation plan document, mentioning roles and responsibilities, was shared with vDc representatives and DDc representatives.

2.5 Tools

the overarching tool used was the gateway system analysis. a questionnaire jointly developed by iSEt Nepal and rSDc was used to gather the gateway system information (annex 2). to test the outcomes and analysis of the gateway system, the shared learning dialogue process was used. this involved various tools such as semi-structured interviews, group discussions and direct observation to collect information. Shared learning dialogues took place at district level, attended by the head or the

representatives and reporters of various district offices. another objective of this joint workshop was to raise awareness of climate change and its effects. this linked local experiences with global trends and aimed to encourage consideration of climate change by communities and decision-makers alike.

community level interviews were used to collect information from the selected communities with the help of a structured questionnaire. the questionnaire and check-lists were designed in line with the study objectives to capture both the process of project operation as well as the performance/impact of the overall programme. Poorer households were targeted and information was collected from action research staff and other project actors. interviews with non-beneficiaries were important not only as a comparison in terms of socio-economic status, but also to solicit outside opinion about the programme.

cooperatives that have been working a long time in the pilot areas were directly involved in the process. in practice, these cooperatives are umbrella organizations of income generation groups of deprived households. they work very closely with other organizations such as local NgOs, cBOs, schools, clubs, and local government, so they were all also represented in the process and benefited from finding out about adaptation options.

2.6 Boundary Actors

the boundary actors in this pilot were income generation groups, members and cooperative leaders, representatives of vDc, FEcOFuN, political parties, user groups, women’s groups, health post staff, farmers groups and youth clubs. at DDc level they were the local government staff, heads of line agencies and NgOs and local politicians. However, members of community based self-reliance cooperatives were the main focus and main actors in this pilot process.

OutPutS / FiNDiNgS

3.1 Swabalamban and climate adaptation

rSDc has a long history of working with rural poor and deprived communities. the Swabalamban programme, implemented by rSDc at the grassroots level, has proved to be very effective in terms of the development of the poor in many aspects of their lives. it is anticipated that it will play a significant role in supporting communities to prepare for and respond to climate change. rSDc carried out the pilot work in areas where it has been working for poverty alleviation of deprived communities through self-reliance development of the poor. in this pilot process, the approach and experience of rSDc were tested through the lens of climate adaptation at local level. a summary of the activities carried out against planned outputs is presented in the table below.

Proposed outputs

Outcome 1.0 Facilitating diversification of livelihoods, services and financial delivery mechanism

Output 1.1 vulnerability assessment and identification adaptation needs identified

Activities 1.1 at least one workshop will be organized to identify the local hazard assessment through participatory method

Activities 1.2 at least two workshops will be organized to identify the potential livelihoods options in local level

Activities 1.3 a revised activities document (lets say vaPa) will be produced through the cooperatives consultation

Activities 1.4 a small resource centre will be established in each cooperation on hazard information, and market information

Achievements

Output detail

See annex 2 , annex 3, annex 4 annex 5 and annex 6

annex 11 and 12

Activities

Outcomes 1.1 in places, Kalikot and Kapilbastu, local level vulnerability assessment and need identified through the group consultation.

Activities 1.1 in both place, two workshops were organized. Before the consultation workshop, gateway system information collected and verified the workshop as well.

Activities 1.2 in both places, two consultation workshops were organized inviting local stakeholders like government agencies, vDcs, local political leaders, cooperatives and other social organization representation. in both cooperatives leaders identified the positional livelihood options to increase the adaptation capacity on the basis of local need. they also revised their policies accordingly for coming days. manakaman of Kapilbastu has already adopted these changes through the generally assembly of the cooperatives and Kalikot cooperative is preparing to submit in upcoming general assembly.

Activities 1.3 at the end of the process a vaPa was produced. they not only identified the need, but also prepared the priority list with responsible organization.

Activities 1.4 Both of the cooperatives are agreed to establish a climate related information centre in the office from 2011 if the fund manageable.

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Activities 1.5 rSDc’s working modality, policy and programme will be reviewed

Activities 1.6 at least a local infrastructure will be developed through each cooperatives and all the process will be documented and assess to identify how this process can help in LaPa process

Activities 1.7 analyses of community risk fund (compensation mechanism) for agriculture, livestock’s, and other assets against flood and drought designed and developed

Output 1.2 Livelihood diversification options identified

Output 1.3 an case study report will be produced of cooperative how self-reliance cooperative’s finance and service delivery mechanism can be useful in climate adaptation as well, to reach in deprive and poor communities and communities.

Outcome 2.0 climate adaptation plans mainstreamed into local institution, cooperative, community, and local body

Output 2.1 climate adaption plans mainstreamed in vDc level plan

Activities 2.1 at least one workshop in each site will be organized to build create awareness on climate adaptation in local level planning

Activities 2.2 vDc plan will be revised

Activities 2.3 a consultation workshop will be organized in vDc level to incorporate the climate adaption in vDc plan

Output 2.2 vDc level plan intergraded into district level planning process

Outcome 3.0 rSDc financing and governance mechanism up-scaled in rimS and rSDc working areas

Output 3.1 the model reaching to deprive and vulnerable community of rSDc will be used in rimS working areas

Activities 3.1 a consultation workshop will be organized to share the rSDc experiences on cooperatives and poor

Output. 3.2 the model reaching to deprive and vulnerable community of rSDc will be used in rSDc working areas

annex 4,5 and 6

annex 4, 5 and 6

annex 5, 6 and 7

annex 7

annex 13

Activities 1.5 a two days workshop of rSDc staffs and board was organized in December 28 and 29, 20101, to discuss the potentially to incorporate the climate adaptation activities in rSDc ongoing activities and other projects .

Activities 1.6 two demonstration plot (local level infrastructure) are developed in both cooperatives working vares through the consultation of board. in Kapilabastu, cooperatives has build a returning wall in a small cannel side to protect the community vegetable collection center which protects the collection center from flood and make easy and regular connection with village and market. Similarly, this wall supports the small bridge connection of two villages with local market and services center. Similarly, in Kalikot, the cooperative has built a returning wall in the connection road between village and market which is badly damaged by landslides and flood.

Activities 1.7 Both cooperatives have agreed to incorporate the climate risk fund in their policy. manakamna has already got approval from general assembly and Kalikot is planning to propose in upcoming assembly.

Outcome 1.3 a report was prepared in both cooperatives.

Activities 2.1 an awareness workshop was organized in both places in the initial stage of the piloting inviting local social leaders and stakeholders including cooperatives leaders and field mobilizes for gate ways stem collection. in the workshop, existing vDc plan was revised and prepared the list of potential activities.

Activities 2.2 an awareness workshop was organized in both places in the initial stage of the piloting inviting local social leaders and stakeholders including cooperatives leaders and field mobilizes for gate ways stem collection. in the workshop, existing vDc plan was revised and prepared the list of potential activities.

Activities 2.3 a workshop was organized in district headquarter of Kapilbastu inviting all related agencies of government and local agencies (cooperatives, FEcOFuN,vDc etc) to discuss the outcomes of gateway system , method and proposed activities in vDc level

Activities 3.1 rSDc worked jointly with iSEt Nepal in Kapilabastu in gateway system collection particularly identification of poor and vulnerable communities in three vDcsSimilarly, in Dhading, rSDc worked with rimS Nepal in comparative study of community forest group and cooperative to implement the idea of community risk fund

Output 3.2 the model reaching to deprive and vulnerable community of rSDc was tested in rSDc working areas

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3.2. Reaching the poorest and most vulnerable communities

the implementation procedure of rSDc is a participatory process based on a learning approach where the field experience itself provides the learning and guides the direction for the organization to grow. this approach has proved to be sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the local community. the entry point for the self–reliance programme is the loan that is made available to group members after they have agreed to form an income generating group (igg). this was found to be an appropriate point of entry; however the amount of money available is inadequate. the igg also acts as a forum for other socio-economic and community development activities. in addition to saving and income generating activities, other developments include promotion of new skills, literacy and schooling for mainly women and girls, drinking water and sanitation, village roads and market places. Women’s empowerment is found to be particularly successfull. through the iggs, village unity, mutual cooperation and communal harmony have increased immensely.

the igg carries out its programmes according to its bylaws and constitution which are established by the members. While some iggs have prepared their own constitution, many have followed the bylaws prepared by rSDc. although they are not legally registered institutions, the umbrella cooperative formed subsequently at vDc level is.

the groups are a basic mechanism to build the local capacity of rural people. the group formation process plays a vital role in the groups’ efficient functioning and sustainability. the general process of forming the iggs and related pilot findings are presented below (see annex 3 for more details).1. the group formation process starts with

site selection. it was found that sites were

selected without exploring alternatives. there was no benchmark data collection. in the selected site, rSDc motivators organized an initial meeting to explain the objectives of the programme, the procedure for organizing a group and the benefits of joining. two important elements of group functioning, namely first, the possibility of transaction cost saving in a group and second, the need for the group to be collectively self-reliant and individually independent, seemed to have been ignored.

2. People who were interested in joining the programme formed iggs. Homogeneity and size were found to not have been considered. targeting, which should have entered into the programme at this phase, was defied by open entry to all. generally, it is the motivator who encourages, guides and assists the rural people in organizing themselves into groups. in some cases, people had formed iggs on their own initiation. it was found that training on group functioning and dynamics was quite inadequate.

3. after a group is formed, the executive committee is selected, comprising 5 - 11 persons. these are generally literate (to keep records and accounts) and leaders of the community, but where members were incapable of maintaining records and accounts, motivators had assisted them and built capacity.

4. Some important instruments of self-reliance are savings collection and mobilization, which takes place first. motivators later provide revolving credit to igg members to carry out income generating activities on the recommendation of the executive committee.

5. most of the groups developed their own rules and regulations for mobilizing savings funds in areas such as investment, repayment schedule, interest rates and book keeping. those groups which were weak in formulating rules and regulations received assistance from motivators.

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6. Besides this, motivators mobilized igg members to perform various community activities such as construction of pit latrines, maintenance and repair of trails, construction of water tanks and cleaning surrounding areas.

7. identification of vulnerable households to become members of the group takes place through targeting during the formation process. First, it involves working with the vDc to identify and select wards which are economically, socially and educationally deprived, and with very few opportunities to get support and resources. Second, identification and selection of targeted hamlets and households within the targeted ward based on a number of socio-economic factors (see box 3.1 below). in forming these groups, deprived or excluded people (Dalit, Janajati and women) are given preference. a key indicator of vulnerability is food sufficiency. member households are categorized into 5 groups – all can receive benefits, but the poorest group has priority access to loans.

targeting can be done in two ways, namely through the above community process or through the gateways system information. in either case, it is imperative to ascertain the level and magnitude of the poverty and vulnerability in an area or household through baseline information collection and vulnerability analysis.

3.3 Vulnerability assessments

During the pilot a Gateway System Analysis was conducted in order to find the proportion of vulnerable people within the vDcs. the results of the analysis in Shivagadi vDc are shown in figure 1 below. the gateway analysis produced a similar result as in the igg formulation process above. these findings regarding vulnerability were verified during the SLD process. Such dialogues between

Figure 1Ward vulnerability ranking of Shivagadi VDC based on Gateway system (Red is most deprived)

experts and communities focused on climate change and the identification and ranking of the most vulnerable wards/communities. SLD was used to see if there is common understanding among them, for example on the indicators of vulnerability. it was also useful for building trust and rapport between science and society, implementing agencies and beneficiaries.

3.4 Financial Delivery mechanism of Self Reliance Cooperatives

three types of fund are mobilized by self-reliance cooperatives: the revolving credit Fund (rcF) provided by rSDc for making loans for income generating activities; the Self reliance Fund (SrF) generated by the groups themselves through regular contributions; and the incentive grant Fund (igF) provided by the programme for social infrastructure development by external agencies including rSDc.

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Adaptation priorities identified at community/VDC levelPriorities areas for planning were identified through Shared Learning Dialogues and participants identified who to approach and who was responsible for implementation or provision of funding. (Details Annex 4 and 6)

• Cooperatives/NGOs: micro-infrastructure like drinking water tanks, small irrigation, vegetable collection centre, climate information centre, skill training.

• VDC: School building, heath post building, small bridges and road maintenance.• DDC: long Bridge over river to connect market and village, check dam for irrigation canal.• National: Hospital, connection road to high way.

BOx 3.1

Criteria of vulnerability – community and experts

Criteria of RSDC to reach with deprive community(Annex 14)

• FamilySize• NoofSchoolenrolledChildren• Loanofthefamily

agricultural income• Livestock• Horticultures• Improvedvegetablefarming• Improvedlivestock• Annualincome• Annualfoodsufficiency

Criteria of Experts (Gateway System)(Annex 2)

• Landownership• Forestaccess• Wateravailabilityandaccess• Drinkingwatersupplysystem• Useoftoilet• Irrigation• Energyandelectricity• MeansofTransportation• Roadaccessandbridge• Meanandaccessofcommunication• Sourceofincome• Rooftypes• Marketaccess• Financialinstitution• Healthservices• Education• Socialnetwork• Non-agriincome

Criteria 0f Community(Annex 5, 6 and 7)

• Agriculturalproduction• Land• Skill• Watersupply• Roadandbridge• Healthpostandschool• Irrigationfacility

after group formation, each member makes a monthly contribution of an amount agreed by the group (ranging from 5 - 300rs) to the group saving fund known as the Self reliance Fund. a fee of 5% was found to be payable if payment was not made. credit obtained from the rcF is generally utilized for income generation activities such as livestock rearing and agriculture production. the livestock sector, which receives top priority in the investment portfolio, was found to be very risky due to a lack of reliable veterinary services, improved breeds and fodder supply. in the field it was observed that irrespective of such risks, rural women still prefer livestock

loans as it meets their priority needs. credit was generally found to be utilized to meet needs for education, food purchase, medical treatment and other social needs.

3.5 Finance delivery mechanism of Manakamana Cooperative

the rcF served 2.4 million people in the manakamana Self-reliance cooperative. the interest rate in lending was 12 percent, which went to the SrF. the SrF collected so far had reached rs. 1.7 million, with an

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average loan size of rs. 241 per member. the survey showed that nearly 40 percent of the sampled members had received a loan from rcF and 50 percent of the members from SrF. this has substantially reduced the borrowing requirement from neighbours and money-lenders at a high interest rate, which illustrates an increase in adaptive capacity.

almost two-thirds of the rcF recipients were found to have received the loan only once, but there were households who had received it as many as four times. So there is some equity issues involved in rcF lending. SrF lending is not directed towards productive lending. this means that the income from the programme intervention is minimal, but this allows more poor members to benefit from the fund.

the use of loans from both funds was found to have reached Nrs 2.2 million last fiscal year. these were used for livestock (19%), crops (23%), trade/business (7%), cottage industries (6%), foreign employment (15%), household consumption (7%), medical treatment (10%) and other unidentified activities (13%).

3.6 Fund mobilization Jankalyan Cooperative

in total the fund served one million people in the Jankalyan cooperative. the lending interest rate is 12 percent. the use of both funds for loans has reached Nrs 220,000 and has been utilized in community cooperative shops (90%) and livestock (10%) only. this cooperative was only established in 2009.

3.7 Self reliance cooperative loans and adaptive capacity

Loans are available for emergencies, treatment, personal loans, hire/purchase, self-employment generation, education, construction of houses and land purchase. all these activities help individuals and their

families to be better prepared for, cope with or bounce back from climate effects and natural disasters.

most of the loans have strict requirements about collateral and repayment. a key element to the self-reliance ethos is the provision of loans for the most poor, where effectively the group provides the assurance of repayment. the cooperatives have special provisions for emergency loans which are available for any kind of disaster. Emergency loans can also be given to members without collateral, based on membership duration and deposited amount. it has a relatively lower interest rate than other loans. Provision of an emergency fund was seen as very important by individuals when discussing climate change impacts.

Both cooperatives were found to have included a risk Fund into their policy. During the pilot, discussions took place with the groups about including climate/weather induced disasters in the list of eligible categories. they decided to incorporate this and included items such as the drying of rice nursery beds, and frost damage to vegetable crops. the fund is internal and comes from two percent of the total loan interest paid by members.

3.8 Capacity building for livelihood diversification

Building the capacity of community members to diversify livelihoods was a highly valued activity, particularly the provision of training for job-oriented skills. Local community members commented that training helped to increase the household income. in Shivagadi, almost all the trainees were found to have been gainfully engaged in related vocational fields. it was noticeable that a large number of members have taken part in income generating activities. it is interesting to note that new activities like vegetable production and new breeds of livestock seem promising among the income

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generation activities, yet the traditional activities with new techniques and inputs seem to provide better food security for households, if not contributing to higher cash income directly.

rSDc provides different types of skill training to cooperative members, such as vegetable production, veterinary care, accounting, bee-keeping, and literacy. in addition, members have received the opportunity to go on observation tours and these have been highly appreciated. Skill training and loans have enabled members to raise their income through on-farm and off-farm self-employment activities. members valued the opportunity to earn income at home rather than needing to migrate for long periods. this made the household units more stable and resilient to climate change.

3.9 Assessment of service delivery mechanisms of self reliance cooperatives

in both Kapilbastu and Kalikot, rSDc supports deprived communities through cooperatives to have increased access to services beyond just financial assistance. cooperatives are building rural micro-infrastructure, contributing to the promotion of health and hygiene, drinking water and irrigation, and education through their own income or grants received from outside. all of these services increase local capacity to adapt to climate change effects. recently, manakamana cooperative built a building to use as a local vegetable collection centre so that members can send a significant amount to the nearest market. as an adaptation measure as part of this pilot demonstration, they built a retaining wall which makes the building and produce less vulnerable to floods during the monsoon and supports the connection road to the main road. Likewise, in Kalikot, the cooperative built a retaining wall to control a land slide which threatened the road between Kumalgaun and manma.

the pilot found that the provision of these services has assisted the beneficiaries in reducing their plight, although the adequacy and effectiveness of the services varied across iggs and vDcs. Services were valued for increasing communities’ wellbeing where government line-agencies and other institutions were absent. For example, drinking water facilities have enhanced the quality of life of poor households as well as reduced the workload of women. cooperative members showed a keen interest in and support for the service delivery mechanisms of cooperatives, which is basically a product of their own involvement.

3.10. Raising awareness of climate change and adaptation

generally people had heard about climate change and melting glaciers, but had not really related it to their own lives. they believe local temperatures are increasing, but have no records of mean changes over recent years. they did not have sufficient information about what climate change is and what adaptation entails. Local decision-makers were also not sufficiently informed.

it will be necessary to produce locally relevant climate change information materials, so that communities can plan and demand support and resources to increase adaptive capacity. Local government officials in vDc, DDc and line agencies also need greater awareness and training so that they can prepare plans and programmes that are climate proof and adaptation focused. money is spent each year on district development, but if the plans are not climate proof it can either be a waste of money or make some people even more vulnerable. in addition to district leaders, engineers, designers and overseers need to know about these issues. mass awareness raising should be designed nationally and is best done though the ministry of Local Development.

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3.11 Promotion of pro-poor governance, transparency and cost effectiveness

through cooperatives rSDc is laying the foundations for effective pro-poor governance at community level. conceptually, good governance is a function of the critical attributes of transparent management and accountability of leaders.

iggs and cooperatives in the pilot were organizations of mostly poor and excluded groups (Dalits, women and other disadvantaged people), yet they were in a position to influence local decision-making, by being empowered by rSDc. there is a general consensus that local bodies have been largely corrupt and, with the absence of local elected officials from the local bodies due to lack of elections, the situation is unlikely to change. the misuse of resources is also widespread. DDc and vDc members conceded that large sums of money available to the district are not used effectively for the poor. the tradition has been to distribute resources equally among all vDcs, resulting in funds being insufficient for any vDc. as a consequence, Kapilbastu is identified as the number one ineffective district in ministry of Local Development ranking.

Similarly, village decision-making has been traditionally dominated by the local elite, with no structurally defined compulsion for the local leaders to be accountable to the people. However, cooperatives are a mechanism for local people, including the poor, Dalits and women, to become stakeholders in local resources and decision-making. this encourages and emboldens even the most vulnerable in the community to be more assertive and to effectively participate in the decision-making of cooperatives and iggs, thereby increasing their capacity to cope with change and adversity. the local community emphasized

that implementing activities through the cooperative was much more cost effective in comparison with external implementation, i.e. it bypassed the common misuse of resources.

given the inclusive nature of the rSDc approach to group formation, the iggs also include some local elite and people who are less vulnerable. Decision-making in the iggs is mostly done through consensus, where all members, rich and poor, men and women, fully participate to protect their stake in the fund and the group. the result is that people in positions of power are also part of transparent decision-making and behave accountably with the rest of the members.

3.12 Sustainability and democracy within the cooperatives

members of iggs and cooperatives identified their urgent needs as food, money for medical treatment, means for furthering income (purchase of livestock and investment in cash crop production), educating children, and safe drinking water. During the Shared Learning Dialogue process, they put forward their prioritized activities and identified responsibilities for implementing activities to increase climate adaptation. the problem-solving capacity of the local community was found to have not been fully developed, but was adequate for the rational use of available funds.

it was found that the cooperatives are practicing democracy and decentralization which is highly important for the sustainability and effectiveness of organizations. Board members of both cooperatives are elected and get endorsement for all decisions from the collective decision making process. it is an interesting example of mass-based leadership development.

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3.13 Involvement in local level planning

With growing awareness of the issues of local and community development, vDc level organizations such as cooperatives have proved reliable entities for planning and implementing community level activities. their role has been significant in recent years, particularly in the absence of the people’s representatives at the vDc level.

in both districts the vDc secretaries, who have also been assigned the duty of the people’s representatives, are very happy with the roles played by iggs and cooperatives. they have been supporting community organizations in almost all community development activities and they consult with cooperative leaders regarding decisions such as planning and budget allocation. vDc secretaries were actively involved in this pilot’s promotion of climate adaptation. interestingly, manakamna cooperative of Kapilbastu has accessed resources from the vDc to carry out activities on their own. Such practices have contributed to promoting democratic and decentralized activities at the grassroots level. this working practice has naturally discouraged corruption and is promoting transparency and accountability. it is interesting to note that in some vDcs the out-going people’s representatives have joined their local igg, thereby contributing to strengthening the groups on the one hand and continuing their association as part of the community on the other. in one case the former vDc chairperson is presently the chairperson of the manakamana cooperative.

this mutual way of working facilitates the integration of effective initiatives into the formal planning processes. in both piloting areas, cooperatives have discussed and identified the required climate adaptation activities at the local level with shared responsibilities among cooperatives, vDc, DDc and government. See annex 4 for manakamana , Shivagadi, Kapilbastu and annex 5 and 6 for Jankalyan, Kumalgau, Kalikot. these form the content of the vDc climate adaptation plan.

3.14 Scaling up RSDC experience in RIMS and ISET pilot areas

the rSDc pilot team worked with rimS Nepal in Dhading and iSEt Nepal in Kapilbastu. rimS invited the rSDc team to an interaction programme with the local cooperative, community forest user groups and others to share the rSDc’s experience of the cooperative model of service delivery and micro-insurance. it had an objective of interacting and getting feedback from local people, for the purpose of establishing a social security (risk fund) mechanism under the LaPa pilot. the community, with local decision-makers, decided to create new structures related to micro-insurance and agreed that the handling of this social security and risk fund should be by the cooperative given their expertise and local involvement. (See detailed report in annex 7.)

Similarly, rSDc helped iSEt Nepal with the LaPa process in Kapilabastu where rSDc has been working for a long time. iSEt-N tested its gateway system and local level planning process in three vDcs with the field support of rSDc.

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aNaLySiS

Local cooperatives have helped rural residents respond to local social, economic and environmental challenges in the past, and they are a mechanism to facilitate rural communities in their current need to find ways to adapt to climate change. Because adaptation to climate change varies with every locality, it is critically important to understand the role local institutions can play in shaping adaptation and improving capacities of the most vulnerable social groups (agrawal et. 2008). to secure ‘win-win’ outcomes in the face of existing and future climate challenges there is a huge need for investment in marginal communities in order to build people-centred resilience, which increases adaptive capacity at the local level (OxFam, 2006).

in order to address the adaptation priorities identified at community/vDc and district level, rSDc has found the most suitable unit for LaPa operation to be the vDc. rSDc offers insight and makes recommendations for the design of a successful LaPa under a number of themes below.

4.1 Using climate foresight in local decision-making and planning processes

in order to plan responses to climate change people need access to climate information that is accurate and relevant to their situation. the flow of information needs to be two-way. information has to come from the community (they can make simple daily or weekly recordings of temperature and rainfall) to a national body, such as NaSt who manages the climate information hub. that body in turn provides relevant information from scientists to communities. information centres based in cooperatives or other local organizations are recommended to facilitate this exchange of climate data and foresight. they can link with local radio stations to broadcast what the community is recording and the patterns they are finding, and let people know what the scientists are suggesting, such as imminent extreme weather events.

4.2 Including the priorities of the most vulnerable in planning adaptation responses

in planning responses to locally identified hazards, vulnerable people know their local priorities, but they do not always attend meetings. Where local decision-makers are elected (eg cooperative chair or vDc chair) they must represent the poorest and most vulnerable community members while making plans. although the local government system is not working democratically, local organizations, such as Sr cooperatives, do represent their members and speak up for their rights.

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4.3 Assessing vulnerability

the pilot used the gateways system to identify vulnerable wards, and used an analysis of the data to rank vulnerability. the wards found to be most vulnerable correlated with the process used to prioritize communities in income generation group formation. Different tools are appropriate for different scales so a combination is required. the gateway system is recommended for vDc and ward level assessments because it is very detailed. However it relies on technical capacity and training to record and analyse the data. Because there is generally a high correlation between poverty and vulnerability, existing mechanisms for wealth ranking such as using food security indicators can give a rapid indication of general vulnerability right down to household level.

4.4 Prioritizing options to increase adaptive capacity and turning them into plans

the gateway system analysis was also used for prioritizing response options to climate effects. it is recommended that consultation and discussion takes place at vDc level with key actors - cooperative leaders, political party representatives, vDc secretary and technical assistant, government officials such as persons in charge of health posts, the agriculture service centre, civil society groups such as federations, users groups, mothers groups and youth clubs. they prioritize the options based on the criteria identified by gateway systems and the local people present.

rSDc recommends forming a draft (unauthorized) LaPa at vDc level and incorporating activities from them into vDc development planning. in the pilot, the top 5 activities on the list for responding to climate change were entered into this plan, but it can be any number relative to the available budget. For clarity these plans should be called vDc adaptation Plans.

4.5 Mainstreaming VDC adaptation plans into district development plans

in the pilot, the plans were taken to the DDc by the cooperative chairperson and local leaders, with the facilitation of rSDc local staff. Some organization should facilitate the process of integrating the vDc adaptation plans into district development plans. if the local government system is functioning with an elected vDc chair then they can take this forward. in the absence of this, a local organization that is active and has influence can present the vDc adaptation plan to the DDc council. the DDc has to respond based on their capacity - either allocating funds, approaching line agencies or explaining why it is not a priority. if the vDc adaptation plan does not get enough response from the DDc, then they can seek funding from other sources such as NgOs or the private sector.

implementation of LaPas is the shared responsibility of local institutions, vDcs, DDcs and national government. During the pilot, in a joint meeting of local institutions, vDc members and district officers, identified and allocated different roles and responsibilities for the implementation of activities. this process needs to be formalized and approved by vDc or DDc boards. collaboration between service providers is essential. at local level responsibility for coordination is difficult in the absence of elected vDc members. Some elected local leaders (of a local NgO or cBO) with authority and influence should play the role. at district level the District technical Officer (DtO) within the DDc should play the role of coordinating the implementation of adaptation plan activities. there is also an urgent need to create synergy between adaptation, development, risk reduction and humanitarian action.

Srcs have shown themselves to be reliable entities in planning and implementing community level activities. their role

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has been significant in recent times, particularly in the absence of the people’s representatives at the vDc level. During the piloting period, it was found that Srcs are invited to all steps of the vDc planning process due to their effectiveness and reputation in the community. in addition, the chair of a cooperative is often someone who used to have a position on the vDc. this kind of synergy facilitates the mainstreaming of adaptation plans, and in the absence of the formal system is often essential.

4.6 Building capacity of communities to reach up and draw down resources

Where Srcs exist they are an effective mechanism for accessing resources. in the pilot they were found to be drawing down funds from vDc, DDc and line agencies to implement community development activities. For example they have accessed resources of other agencies such as District agriculture Office, District Livestock Office, and the District Health Office for increasing services such as schools, electricity, drinking water, irrigation, and family planning. they have become a trusted mechanism for government bodies to spend their budgets, enabling line agencies to live up to the government commitment of reducing poverty. in the absence of cooperatives, other trusted and accountable NgOs or cBOs can play this role.

4.7 Monitoring and evaluating changes in adaptive capacity

it is essential to continually monitor adaptive capacity to know whether programmes and activities carried out under adaptation are actually reducing vulnerability to climate change and increasing capacity to adapt. the monitoring and evaluation (m&E) findings must link back into planning to be

sure the plans are doing this. the mechanism used by rSDc is recommended for assessing change over time. the household survey is used at the beginning of an initiative and after a few years. it records details of households that are in fact related to adaptive capacity such as food sufficiency, savings and access to loans, agricultural assets, other assets (eg house construction), income sources and skills. these are indicators for poverty alleviation, but are easily modified for climate change by adding aspects such as availability of water, energy source, access to health services, climate hazards, access to savings, marketable goods and access to markets, road connectivity, transport, and means of communication, particularly by mobile phone.

4.8 Institutional mechanisms

Self-reliance is a key element of adaptive capacity. Srcs are an effective institutional mechanism for developing self-reliance in rural communities. agrawal et al (2008) have classified the local adaptation responses to climate variability into five categories: mobility, Storage, Diversification, communal pool and market exchange. Self-reliance cooperatives have either been working in these areas from the outset or they have the capacity to facilitate this process. (See

Annex 9 for the differences between self-reliance

cooperatives (SRCs) and other cooperatives.)

Likewise, Srcs may take the role of developing institutional links and networks to advance adaptive capacity by connecting directly to institutions or connecting among them as a focal point for adaptation initiatives. (See Annex 10 for working modality.)

agrawal et al (2008) have identified some characteristics of local institutions for enabling climate adaptation. they have described characteristics of institutions (simple and easy rules, broad local involvement, fairness in resource allocation,

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clear mechanisms for enforcing rules, accountability); characteristics of the context of institutions (dissemination of new technologies, local government support, provide necessary support in terms of information, finances, and skill development); characteristics of groups served by the institutions (clearly defined boundaries of the group, history of successful shared experiences, existence of social capital, appropriate leadership that changes periodically); characteristics of the ecological context (match between the demands on the ecological system and its output, information availability about the ecological system, possibility of storing benefits from the system). Srcs exhibit many of these characteristics.

Srcs are a cost effective way of reaching vulnerable communities and supporting them to develop their own organizations. rSDc’s working modality is a process of relevance in LaPa development and implementation processes (See details in

Annex 8, Annex 11 and Annex 12)

4.9. Downward accountability

the Srcs provide a good model of institutional structure (eg systematic and transparent book keeping, external auditing and public auditing) which allows members to track their shares and trust the organization is responding to their needs. in order to have long term credibility as a delivery mechanism for LaPa, an organization must demonstrate openness and neutrality, and build up trust. in essence, to be seen as accountable by beneficiaries and local communities it must practice good governance.

Srcs provide an example of good governance at the grassroots level due to the effective, participatory, decentralized decision-making processes, cost effective

accountable leaders and transparent mechanisms. they are practicing democratic and inclusive mechanisms in their organizational life, which in turn makes them respected local institutions. it was shown that rSDc’s working modality has been successful even during the conflict period of the county. Hence, vDcs and other government institutions are making Srcs major partners for spending resources and planning at the community level.

4.10 SRC as a mechanism for LAPA finance delivery

Self-reliance cooperatives are recognized as the bank of the poor in terms of ownership, service delivery and accessibility. Poor and vulnerable communities are saving small amounts and utilizing them to meet their financial needs for education, food purchases, medical treatment and other social needs. income generation activities such as crafts, small scale trade, animal husbandry, horticulture and crops production have been supported from the central revolving Fund, such as livestock, horticulture, craft production, retailing of consumer goods, mobile trade of rice, beaten rice, chilly, crude sugar, sandals, animal trade and operation of bookstalls. all these activities increase members’ adaptive capacity and illustrate the strength of Srcs as a financial delivery mechanism for the LaPa.

Srcs also offer a mechanism for community managed micro-insurance. Nepal faces a series of key institutional, technical, operational and financial challenges in developing crop and livestock insurance products and services, which are suited to the needs of the country’s small and marginal farmers, and in scaling-up the demand for and supply of crop and livestock insurance (World Bank 2009). current insurance legislation does not recognize the informal crop

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and livestock insurance programmes implemented through cooperatives and mFis. there is a lack of clarity over the legal status of the guarantee protection cum insurance products. Likewise, the limited range of crop and livestock insurance products, lack of data and information, lack of capacity of private sector insurance companies and their branch network, and hard administrative costs for operation, mean that this is not possible to implement immediately in the country. therefore, SLcs, which are Local Financial institutions with some capacity and experience, may adopt and accept the climate and weather related risks into their “risk fund” policy. Other external agencies like government or donors, who are interested in supporting micro-insurers and public private partnership schemes, can contribute to the fund to strengthen LaPa delivery. (See uNFccc 2009.)

4.11 Scaling-out and scaling-up to other institutions

Srcs are working to build adaptive capacity of local communities, including increasing the financial options of poor and vulnerable people, building skills and capacities, and promoting and building rural micro-infrastructure such as drinking water and irrigation, road protection, channel protection, small bridges, schools and community buildings. Due to community ownership, cost sharing, transparent mechanisms and the participatory decision-making process of cooperatives, those structures are cost effective, needs based and community owned.

thus rSDc offers a self-reliance development model that could be scaled out for adaptive capacity development throughout Nepal. the pilot experiences of sharing with other organisations showed

that other institutions can also use the model for reaching poor and vulnerable communities within their own structures. it simply needs political will to prioritise climate adaptation and allocate resources.

4.12 Measuring effectiveness, monitoring and evaluation tools and indicators

Effective monitoring is the life-blood of a dynamic and responsive organization. therefore, all the Srcs have to submit their annual report to rSDc through its field facilitator, district cooperatives office and their general assembly. in the field, rSDc has a staff member who regularly provides monitoring and supervision support. Likewise, rSDc has a half yearly review and planning meeting at the national office with all District coordinators. National staff also regularly visit the field. an annual progress review and staff retreat takes place at the national level, to which donors and goN representatives are invited, where progress of the previous year is assessed and experiences are shared in the form of lessons learned.

Similarly, at community level rra, Pra, appreciative inquiry and rEFLEct tools are applied for planning, monitoring and evaluation of programmes and interventions. these tools increase participation and trust, and they ensure interventions are appropriate and cost effective. they create ownership of the monitoring process and increase the use of monitoring findings in further planning. m&E of the LaPa should make use of a wide range of tools and take place at every level. the key point is that they should all lead to improved delivery of services that increase adaptive capacity of poor rural communities.

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4.13 Barriers and gaps to developing and delivering LAPA

• Themostseriousbarriertodevelopingand delivering the LaPa is the lack of knowledge at the local level for planning mechanisms.

• Adaptationisconsideredasanadditionalcost.

• Thelengthofapilotneedstobeatleastthe full cycle of the planning process at local level.

• Itwouldbebetterifadaptationisincluded within the poverty alleviation programme and approach rather than being often seen as a new issues related only to the environment.

• Non-functionalVDCsandlackofpoliticalleadership where vDc and DDc secretary may not take a decision broadly, is a constraint.

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in the case of Nepal, poverty alleviation programmes and activities are the only way to address the climatic hazards and risks faced by rural communities. therefore, the self-reliance working modality, used to identify the most poor and vulnerable communities, and form hamlet or interest based organizations and vDc level cooperatives, could be a key entry point for local climate adaptation. they have capacity and expertise in improved governance (including transparent, and accountable policy and decision making processes), mainstreaming poor issues into programmes and policy, involvement in local level planning, empowerment of communities, information sharing, and building community trust and involvement.

micro-insurance has been identified as an important component of future action for climate adaptation. innovative risk sharing mechanisms are needed to respond to the new challenges, including increasingly frequent extreme events, land degradation and loss of biodiversity. Srcs are an established mechanism of financial delivery, with self monitoring mechanisms that include risk fund management and evaluation of collateral. therefore, it is proposed that Srcs are an effective institution for LaPa implementation.

Following the pilots in Kalikot and Kapilbastu districts, rSDc is keen to implement this approach in a further four districts: two from the hills area and two from the terai plains, considering new areas (such as Nawalparasi/Dang and Syangja) and existing working areas (such as Kapilbastu and Kalikot). in Kapilbastu and Kalikot, rSDc’s working modality and the socio-economic and climate adaptation needs of deprived communities would be the entry point. in the two new areas community vulnerability, based on gateway systems analysis and vulnerability assessment, would be the entry point.

5.1 RSDC proposes the following structure and methodology for LAPA development and implementation

Approaches• Reachingthemostvulnerableanddeprivedcommunities,asRSDChasbeendoingfor

a long period • Increasingclimateadaptationthroughapovertyalleviationlens,asisalreadybeing

implemented

Tools and methodology• Vulnerabilityassessmentthoughgatewaysystemanalysisatwardlevel• AnalysesoftheoutcomesandcomparisonwithRSDCdeprivationidentificationoutcomes

cONcLuSiON PrOPOSED LaPa DESigN FOr tHE micrO-FiNaNcE SEctOr tHrOugH LFiS

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• Sharetheoutcomeswithandraisingtheawarenessofthelocalstakeholdersat vdc level

• Identificationoflocalhazardsandappropriate responses

• Prioritiseadaptationactivitiesandidentify support institutions

• Shareatdistrictleveltoensurearesponse from government line agencies

Coordination system• Selfreliancecooperativeplaysthe

coordinationroleasitistheumbrellaorganizationoflocallevelIGGs,represents deprived communities, and isanelectedbodyintheabsenceofelectedgovernmentanditworksinthewholeVDCwithagoodreputation.

Institutional mechanism• VAPAplanningbycooperative• Microlevelinfrastructurebycooperative

and vdc

• LargeprojectsbyDDC• Capacitybuildingandlivelihood

diversificationbycooperatives• Monitoringbygovernmentmechanism,

cooperatives and the community

Financial mechanism• Provingfinancethroughcooperatives

and iggs to the poor and vulnerable for capacity building and livelihood diversification

• Microinsuranceasprotectionagainstthe uncertainties of weather and climate

Information/ technology• Establishclimateinformationcentresat

local level• Cooperativescollectlocaldataand

sharewithNASTanddisseminatetheinformation received from nast

•NASTprovidesclimaticinformationregularly

Process Tools

vulnerability assessment of each ward (community) in the vDc Questionnaire/gateway system

Discussion tools

group work and discussion tools




vDc adaptation action plan for whole vDc

Response activities 1.2.3. …….etc

Institution cooperatives/ Local NgOsvDcDDc

Prepare complete vulnerability list, analyses and priority list

Share vulnerability assessment outcomes with all stakeholders at vDc level

Prioritization of issues and discussion related to gWS map and climate change issues / hazards in whole vDc

Workshop: vDc, FEcOFuN, NgOs, cBOs, cooperatives, all stakeholders on increasing climate change and adaptation awareness and hazards issues in whole vDc

District level workshop to share vPa, inviting DDc, government line agencies, civil society, political leaders, cooperative leaders

Objective: to seek a district level response (commitment or clarity) to vDc adaptation top priority list.

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agrawal a. , catherine mcSweeney and Nicolas Perrin 2008, tHE SOciaL DimENSiONS OF cLimatE cHaNgE, No. 113 , Social Development Notes : community Driven Development, July 2008, World Bank

OxFam 2009, People-centred resilience Working with vulnerable farmers towards climate change adaptation and food security Oxfam Briefing Paper 16 November 2009

World Bank 2009. Finance and Private Sector Development unit, South asia region global Facility for Disaster reduction and recovery: Feasibility Study for agricultural insurance in Nepal report No. 46521-NP World Bank and iSDr July 2009

united Nations Framework convention on climate change (uNFccc 2009), climate change: impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation in Developing countries. uNFccc

Shrestha BK 2006, Self-reliant Development of the Poor By the Poor (Sdpp) Project, Progress monitoring and review report, rSDc

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Gateway systems analysis for assessinG vulnerability and buildinG local adaptive capacity to climate chanGe impacts

Gateway systems analysis for assessing vulnerability and building local adaptive capacity to climate change impacts

submitted toClimate Change Adaptation and Design Project Nepal (CADP-N)Lalitpur, Nepal

submitted byAjaya Dixit, Kamal Thapa and Madhav Devkota Institute for Social and Environmental Transitional-Nepal

March, 2011


Introduction 361

Vulnerability to climate change 364

Adaptive strategies 366

Objectives 368

Examining gateway systems and assessing vulnerability 370

Biophysical and socioeconomic context of Kapilbastu: Pilot study district 373 Climate and natural resources 373 Demography 374 Agriculture 374 Infrastructure 374

Identification of VDCs 376

Climate-induced hazards 379

Status of gateway systems and services 381 Core systems 381 Secondary systems 383 Tertiary systems 384

Vulnerability ranking 386

The marginalised 389

Local climate change scenario 392

Developing development scenarios 395

Planning process 399

Summary 401

A comment on decentralisation in Nepal 405

Last words 407

End notes 408

References 409

TAble of ConTenTS

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InTroDuCTIon

In 2007 the fourth Assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared that, by 2100, global temperatures are likely to increase by 1.8-4°C, and recognised the potential impacts of such an increase on temperature extremes, precipitation levels, tropical storms and sea levels. even minor changes in temperatures can have major impacts on the natural environment, including changing species ranges, increasing extinctions and exacerbating the risk of wildfire. Increased temperature will likely affect the human environment, too, changing water availability, altering crop productivity and reducing coastal land due to sea-level rises. Increased spells of hot weather and greater incidences of vector-borne diseases will threaten human health.

The global community has attempted to respond to these challenges by holding Conference of the Parties (CoP) meetings in an attempt to negotiate targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the primary cause of global climate change. recent CoP meetings, however, have tended to downplay the seriousness of the problem: the 2009 Copenhagen CoP, for example, acknowledged that global temperatures may rise 2°C, but failed to contemplate the possible 4°C suggested in the IPCC’s 2007 report. The “4°C and beyond” conference held at oxford in 2009, in contrast, presented compelling evidence that given the current trends in green house gas emissions, a future with an average global temperature 4°C higher than it is now is a distinct possibility. because a substantial increase in warming may occur much sooner than anticipated, the world is likely to face severe climate changes and much uncertainty in the near future.

With regard to climate change, however, not all elements of the future are uncertain. According to Smith, et al. (2011) several aspects of climate change are straightforwardly monotonic; as a result, for many types of decisions, levels of uncertainty are modest. The rise in average global temperatures predicted by general circulation models (GCMs) is an example of a monotonic change. other examples are sea-level rises (and the resultant inundation of coasts) and increasing seawater acidity, the magnitudes of which is reasonably certain for at least the next few decades and even longer (Smith et al., 2011). The increase in average global temperatures, regardless of its degree, will no doubt exacerbate extreme climatic hazards. As a result, climate disasters are likely to acquire greater ferocity across the world and result in destruction of properties, lives and livelihoods. natural systems, local and communities, institutional structures and social relationships will be affected by increased climate variability and resultant disasters. Clearly adaptive strategies are needed to effectively respond to these emerging stresses.

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In formulating a strategy for adapting to the impacts of climate change in nepal, the following factors add to the complexity and challenges: • Duetothepoorlyunderstoodrelation

between the South Asian monsoon and the Himalaya system, and the inherent limitations of climate science and modelling, uncertainty about the future is inescapable. Models simply cannot generate a precise vision of what the future holds for the country.

• Climatechangeimpactsareoccurringsimultaneously with development. In many areas people do not have access to basic services such as drinking water, energy and education. Climate change impacts add new stresses and from these perspectives development and adaptation emerge as two ends of a continuum, and it will be difficult to disentangle the two.

• Asadaptationisaprocessandnotan end in itself, responses need to be iterative and based on learning shared between experts and those who are driven to adapt.

• Peoplearedifferent:theyperceiverisks differently, respond to pressure differently and strategise differently. Such differences must be acknowledged in the design of adaptive strategies.

• Sinceitisoftenthehierarchicallyorganised government, whether at the local or national level, which devises responses for adapting to climate change, it is important to consider how to reconcile its rigid organisational structure with the flexibility adaptation requires.

• Societiesalsofaceotherdriversofchange including climate change stress.

As the six points above indicate, the drivers of change are multiple and the context is dynamic. As conditions change, new constraints and new opportunities will emerge and the definition of the problem

itself will change too. Whenever the nature of the problem changes, new solutions need to be sought. Conventional methods will be of little or no use in a future in which the problem itself, and, as a result, its solutions, are changing. Thus, an effective adaptive strategy to deal with climate change must have the capacity to identify emerging constraints and to devise new solutions. broadly, the strategy must devise approaches that will perform at the intersection of development and adaptation, accommodate multiple drivers including climate change, and have the ultimate aim of achieving individual, household and societal well being. In many ways, notions of adaptation as achieving well being, derive from the work on ecosystems and subsequent analysis by leading thinkers such as C.S. Holling and lance Gunderson that draw parallels within interlinked socio-ecological systems (Gunderson and Holling, 2002). ISeT (2008) uses this conceptual foundation as a starting point for understanding how human systems may adapt to stresses spawned by climate change. This interrelationship in achieving wellbeing, the aim of any state with respect to its people, is illustrated in figure 1.

The above conceptual grounding leads to the idea of a gateway system as the means for assessing vulnerability and adapting to climate change. At its core, gateway systems is based on the notion that the social and economic systems within which individuals, households and organisations function, present these social actors with certain constraints and opportunities to which they respond as they seek to maintain or improve their well-being. The idea of the gateway system will be discussed in detail in the subsequent sections while analyzing vulnerability to climate change and adaptation. Clearly adaptation and development are not separate though each has different

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elements that need teasing out. This process of exploring inter-linkages between the two, leads to seeking methods that will support broader development objectives while adaptation strategies are pursued. Given the inherent uncertainties in climate science and the multiple needs of societies, methods that help prioritise options identified for adaptation will be necessary. Prioritising options is a key responsibility of effective governance. The logic is relevant when one recognises that climate change adaptation is an additional burden for developing countries that have fallen behind in helping citizens achieve well being. This line of enquiry about the links between adaptation

and development, raises more questions than it provides answers. Some of the questions are: How can financing for adaptation be distinguished from general development financing? How can such additional financing be integrated into normal budgetary processes of the government? How are maximum accountability and transparency ensured in the way adaptation financing is delivered, allocated and governed? Climate change in that sense is a lens that will help reassess the prevailing practices, because the above questions are frequently asked, in the context of the effectiveness of foreign aid and development, of many developing countries including nepal.

figure 1:Systemic inter-linkages in achieving wellbeing

Gateway systems

multiple drivers and multifaceted issues

Government bodies

civic bodies, nGos, cbos, federations

private actors, both national and local

donors

• national level• district level• village levelplural solutions multiple institutions

development of capacity to respond as and when constraintsemerge through local-level planning

achievement of well being in ordinary circumstances and adaptation tostresses, including those imposed by climate change.

development deficit and additionally

The conception of vulnerability is at the heart of our aim to understand how the impacts of global climate change translate to local scales and how we take action to reduce vulnerability. IPCC defines vulnerability as the degree to which systems are susceptible to and unable to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change: “Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude, and rate of climate change and the variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity” (IPCC, 2007, emphasis added). The Hyogo framework 2005-2015, adopted by the united nations at the World Conference on Disasters in 2005 includes a broader definition of vulnerability: “A set of conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards.” both documents indicate that susceptibility and sensitivity to exposure and the capacity to shift strategies in ways that reduce such susceptibility and sensitivity are central to understanding vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. In short, human vulnerability to climate change is a function of susceptibility to exposure (lives, livelihoods, relationships and assets that are either directly or indirectly likely to experience major impacts from climate change) and the capacity to shift strategies in ways that reduce such susceptibility (ISeT, 2008).

The discussion above raises several important questions: What will be the scale of climate change impacts? How does one assess those impacts? Where will they occur? Who will be most affected by them? Clearly, answers to the “where” and “who” are crucial, as the vulnerability of a particular place and the people in that place to impacts of climate change matters. Climate change is a global phenomenon but the impacts are local and must be dealt with at that level. Therefore what is needed is a better grasp of the complexity of, and changes in, climatic systems and how they will affect both nature and society, and the systems which they are based on and derive from both.

our focus on these local issues is rooted in our understanding of the larger dynamics of global climate patterns and their implications for regional and local climates. This understanding is based on the scientific perspective, that is, physical scientists tend to espouse a natural hazards-based school of thought, a positivist approach to development rooted in the technological management of risk. They consider risk reduction to be a physical function and equate vulnerability with physical exposure to extreme events and adverse outcomes, the characteristics of the biophysical environment and natural resource distribution.

VulnerAbIlITy To ClIMATe CHAnGe

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This approach to conceiving vulnerability is insufficient because it does not consider the question of who is affected. It is in identifying the people affected, that the social approach to vulnerability assessment is useful and, in fact, required. The social approach starts by assessing vulnerabilities already embedded in a given social context: the characteristics of a person or group and their situation that influence their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of natural hazards. In this perspective, vulnerability is both dynamic and contested. It is also differential, depending as it does on the scale and functional unit of analysis, whether it is the individual, household, community, regional or system level. According to Adger (2006), vulnerability stems from the failure of certain people to secure their entitlement to resources as well as structural factors that leave them differentially disadvantaged in the face of disasters. Some analysts have attempted to bridge the gap between the physical and social perspectives on vulnerability by proposing the concept of a ‘vulnerability of place’, in which biophysical exposure intersects with political, economic and social factors to generate specific configurations of vulnerability (Cutter, 1996; Cutter et al., 2000).

In appreciating that vulnerability to climate change is differential, it is important to recognise both the scientific and the social perspectives: a person’s exposure to hazards matters and so does their state of survival. In addition, any approach to assessing vulnerability must capture both an understanding of the local context and an appreciation of global dynamics. Applying a number of analytical tools, including a consideration of exposure, sensitivity, the ability of a system to adapt and the state

of disadvantage can be useful in helping people respond to the potential impacts of climate change.

However, the challenge is much deeper than just coming up with an approach. Climate change is a global phenomenon with local impacts on real people and it is those people who matter. rising temperatures affect local livelihoods, social systems and economic enterprises and pose health risks. Impacts such as severe weather, dry spells and floods are likely to increase food shortages, the incidence of vector-borne diseases, infrastructure damage and the degradation of natural resources. In this web of impacts, how does one identify who will be at the greatest disadvantage? unless we can identify who the vulnerable are, we can hardly take proactive measures to build adaptive capacity.

The localised impacts of the global phenomenon of climate change depend upon the geographical, environmental, economic and socio-political contexts of particular places. because the idiosyncrasies of each of these varied contexts are intertwined with both monotonic changes and large uncertainties, identifying an overarching strategy for adapting to climate change is an impossible task and identifying a strategy for a particular context, a daunting one. As all adaptive strategies are influenced by local systems, each must suit the actual or anticipated experiences of climate change impacts on people and systems in a specific area. These systems include water, energy, land, food, education, transportation, communications and finance systems as well as ecosystems. effective adaptive strategies will require responses at all scales of governance, from local to regional to national.

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The above discussion brings to fore a question: what is adaptation or an adaptive strategy? The united nations framework Convention on Climate Change (unfCCC) first defined adaptation as the extent to which societies could tolerate changes in climate. In its efforts to link such a concept with practical necessities for on-the-ground action, ISeT (2008) makes a distinction between adaptation and coping. It argues that adaptation is much more than coping and suggests that, in well-adapted systems, “people do well” despite changes in conditions which introduce new stresses, including those attributable to climate change. The reason they do well is either that they shift strategies for earning a living or that the underlying systems on which their livelihoods are based are sufficiently resilient and flexible to absorb the impact of change. Adaptation, therefore, encompasses both the ability to adopt alternative livelihoods as well as the ability to develop resilient and flexible systems. The capacity to shift strategies is a function of three key variables: (1) access to underlying infrastructure, knowledge, communication, economic and other systems; (2) relationships among those systems; and (3) assets, particularly convertible assets (ISeT, 2008).

Shifts in strategies can be accomplished by both planned and autonomous actions. Planned actions include those steps by a government or a donor agency to shape its policies, programmes and projects in response to climate change impacts. Dixit (2010) suggests that planned adaptation can be further classified as attributed and indirect. Attributed planned adaptation is the result of public policy decisions made by government or public sector agencies with respect to climate change. Such decisions are explicitly designed to respond to the predicted impacts of climate change on ecological, hydrological and human systems. They include programmes that governments, non-governmental organisations (nGos) and international donor agencies implement with the deliberate goal of responding to specific impacts of climate change identified after assessing climate change vulnerabilities.

When the uncertainty inherent in climate science and projection renders the adoption of measures which, by design, tackle specific impacts—attribution—impossible, indirect planned adaptive measures can be adopted. This approach establishes systemic mechanisms that enable people to switch strategies autonomously and as a result, to do well. Indirect planned adaptive measures may facilitate a shift to more adaptive strategies but their use is not directly attributed to the desire to address climate change. This approach works independently of climate change but, serendipitously, enables strategy switches and autonomous adaptation.

In contrast with planned adaptation, autonomous adaptation includes actions that individuals, communities, businesses and other organisations undertake on their own in response to the opportunities and constraints they face as the climate changes. These actions may involve changing practice or technology, diversifying livelihood systems, increasing access to financial resources such as micro-insurance and micro-credit, migrating,

ADAPTIVe STrATeGIeS

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Source: NCVST, 2009

reconfiguring labour allocation or resource rights and engaging in collective action to access services, resources or markets. Social capital and access to skills and knowledge are particularly important in enabling autonomous adaptive behaviour.

In countries such as nepal, since much autonomous adaptation occurs in the informal sector, it tends to be visible at the household level but invisible at the national level. Global planning, too, pays scant attention to autonomous adaptation. understanding the role that the informal sector and autonomous behavior play in adapting to climate change, is central to developing effective policies and strategies. for example, across the burgeoning cities of South Asia, where municipal governments are notoriously unable to meet the demand for drinking water, local and migrant populations adapt by purchasing water through informal tanker markets. These markets are a key behavioral and institutional mechanism that responds to the needs of large populations and adds flexibility to the much more rigidly fixed and poorly managed municipal water supply systems. However, the adaptive systems have their problems, too: suppliers provide poor-quality water and charge exorbitant prices. Another example of autonomous adaptation to rising temperatures is the installation of air-conditioning. This, too, is an option only open to the affluent and to large commercial entities and manufacturing enterprises. In both cases, the truly vulnerable, those who are most susceptible to exposure and the least capable of shifting strategies to reduce that susceptibility, are unable to adapt. Instead, they cope, foregoing personal hygiene and sweltering in misery. Therefore, it is this group which is most affected and this group that governments need to identify and support.

on a more fundamental level, in order to enjoy a cool home or workplace, individuals and households (and possibly communities as well) often devise strategies for responding to constraints. When the future of farming

looks bleak, farming households move onto non-agricultural activities, investing heavily in migration or educating children. As new constraints and opportunities emerge, people respond to them, actively and creatively, taking advantage of the gateway systems—energy, water, land use, mobility and finance systems as well as ecosystems—available to them. The difference between the two types of adaptation can be conceptualised by using the analogy of an iceberg: the submerged, invisible part, which represents autonomous adaptation, is much larger than the visible tip above the water level, which is akin to planned adaptation (nCVST, 2009).

While society tends to seek and latch onto a single, catch-all solution, when faced with an ever-evolving problem, the only appropriate strategy is to embrace plural approaches, that allows adequate space for a wide variety of stakeholders—the government, the private sector and civic groups—to be involved and contribute what they can. There is a need for creative engagement, for thinking outside the box. only a “nimble” approach will allow space for the flexible and iterative processes that adaptation to climate change requires. When mainstreaming the adaptation process into development planning, it is crucial that the notions of both flexibility and iteration be balanced with the need for structure at all levels of governance—local, regional and national.

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figure 2:Adaptation iceberg

To further the aim of facilitating adaptation, an approach that brings together the global dynamics with the local will be needed. While efforts can be and should be made at the national level, efforts that focus at the local level are needed. To that end, a process for devising local adaptation plans for action (lAPAs) as a means of mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development planning was piloted in nepal. Such an approach needs to bring together bottom-up and top-down approaches. In conceptualisation, the approach should enable a local-level governance unit to prepare a local-level development scenario using localised climate change foresight, and to formulate plural responses in order to establish climate-resilient gateway systems that help build the resilience of the vulnerable population. This conceptualisation of an lAPA leaves many questions unanswered. How does one: decide that one area affected by climate change is more vulnerable than another; identify which gateway systems in that area are most vulnerable; determine who is likely to be most seriously affected; decide who will be involved in deploying adaptation measures?

To seek the answers, we piloted the design of lAPA in Kapilbastu, a Tarai district in nepal’s western development region from August 2, 2010 to January 30, 2011, applying the framework of gateway systems to the village development committee (VDC) level of governance. This framework used a natural hazard perspective to assess the vulnerability of a VDC to climate change and then used a socio-political perspective to identify individual and households within the VDC who are likely to be most vulnerable to climate change impacts. It thus brought both the natural science and social perspectives together. Thus the process adopted a systematic approach to using gateway systems as the lens to assess ward-level vulnerability and to preparing a strategy to respond to climate change impacts. Its objectives were as follows:

1. Identify the gateway system services in selected VDC.2. Assess the impacts of climate change within the specific boundary at the VDC level.3. Identify communities rendered vulnerable by climate change, as well as those which are

more resilient.4. Arrive at a preliminary assessment of how gateway system services build or constrain

adaptation.5. Identify a range of adaptive options.6. Devise a method for mainstreaming the learning of the pilot process into VDC and

district development committee (DDC) procedures.

In this process, shared learning dialogue (SlD) served as an overarching framework that guided the selection of appropriate methods and tools. SlD is a concept based on the learning frameworks proposed by lewin (1946) and is similar to participatory research

obJeCTIVeS

368

methods (Chambers 1994). The process contrasts with more conventional development and research methods, such as Participatory rural Appraisal (PrA), in which external facilitators base their plans or recommendations on information extracted from local partners or in which external facilitators seek to catalyse action for the existing priorities that local partners suggest. Conventional methods, unlike SlD, do not always present new information and knowledge to local stakeholders. Instead of either capturing or catalysing local priorities, as is done by the conventional approaches, SlD emphasises synthesising the knowledge of both local people and external actors. It blends the experiential and the scientific, the local and the global.

In this approach, both external analysts and local actors, including local communities, sector specialists, governmental actors and non-government organisations, share their insights in order to come to a common understanding of the issue. The SlD method (ISeT/ISeT-n, 2009) is valuable in that it fosters an understanding of vulnerability at the local level but is, at the same time, informed by the global, scientific perspective. As its perspective is both broad and focused, the synthesised knowledge generated by SlD is crucial for local-level planning for climate adaptation. It is precisely because climate change is a global phenomenon with local consequences that the knowledge generated at the global, technical level needs to be used in combination with local, experiential knowledge.

figure 3:Shared learning dialogue

Draw lessons from implementation revise plan

and implement

Draw lessons from implementation revise plan

and implement

Collect local experienceand scientific evidence

Plan and implement

Lear

ning

TIME Adapted from lewin (1946)

Aci

Aci

Aci

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As discussed above, the entry point for preparing an lAPA was through assessing the presence and use of gateway systems in each ward of the VDCs selected for piloting. Gateway systems were defined as systems of energy, water, land use, mobility and finance systems as well as ecosystems. The term “gateway systems” is not intended to draw attention to the differential access implicit in the nature of systems, but emerges from the understanding that adaptation is the ability to switch strategies in face of constraints, including those due to climate change. Indeed, to do well, people switch strategies. Whether or not they can do so depends, in large measure, on their ability to access services from energy, water, land use, mobility and finance systems as well as ecosystems. Thus, these systems serve as a gateway toward greater resilience to the impact of climate change.

As mentioned above, gateway systems bring together social and economic systems within which individuals, households and organisations function and respond, as they seek to maintain or improve their livelihood status together. The array of choices that social actors can make depends upon the availability of energy, water and other resources, as well as on the nature of the social and physical infrastructure they have access to. Social systems (i.e. institutions, languages, social networks, health, sanitation, finance, education, communications and knowledge systems) determine the opportunities and constraints that social actors perceive and are able to respond to. At the same time, the decision-making space available to these actors is a function of physical systems: the physical infrastructure supporting or constraining mobility (transportation), communications, access to natural resources and exposure to hazards, all shape both the reality and the perception of opportunities and constraints. The combined physical and social infrastructures which exist in any given context, along with basic availability of resources, create a limited space within which decisions regarding shifting strategies can be made.iii

Drinking water, energy and food systems, as well as forest and other ecosystems are fundamental to survival. They constitute the core systems on which local livelihoods depend. All are likely to be directly affected by climate change. Secondary systems, if they are robust, enable people to access various opportunities to overcome the constraints that they face. The greater the impact of climate change on these systems, the more vulnerable people will be and the less able to adapt. Tertiary-level systems include finance, health and education. If the quality of service provision is good and the systems strong, people will have access to the money, medical treatment, knowledge and skills, political voice and other tertiary services that they need to shift strategies. regardless of the level, it is the robustness and quality of the systems that contribute to the ability of local populations to adapt to climate and other changes, and their dysfunction and ineffectiveness that detract from it.

exAMInInG GATeWAy SySTeMS AnD ASSeSSInG VulnerAbIlITy

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by analysing the services provided by gateway systems at the local level, the socio-economic and biophysical context within which they are embedded, and identifying individuals and households without access to them, we had a practical tool by which we were able to assess vulnerability to climate change.

The majority of the population depend on agriculture, and for them, climate-related hazards such as floods, droughts and winter fog pose a serious threat. During the process of creating the lAPA for the four selected VDCs of Kapilbastu, five SlDs were held with locals both at the district and VDC levels. These were held in order to share with them insights of global climate science and to identify their experiences of the nature of localised climate change impacts and their ideas about options for switching strategies. These discussions increased local ownership of the lAPA and also helped validate local conditions.

In order to minimise the risks posed by climate change at specific locations, planners need to know two key pieces of

information: who is most vulnerable and how gateway systems in that location will be impacted. external analysts have the capacity, methods and tools to assess changes in climate, but their ability to know local vulnerabilities is limited. Thus, ensuring the participation of local stakeholders in identifying key priorities and entry points for assessing vulnerabilities is crucial. At the same time, the ability of local actors to assess climate vulnerabilities at their locality is limited as they lack a technical understanding of global and regional climate change impacts. SlDs are instrumental in capitalising on the insights of both groups, and thereby producing a synergistic effect.

The step after assessing the status of the gateway systems in the VDC (or, indeed, in any specific locality), was to develop an understanding of the vulnerabilities of each system—where they are fragile, poor quality, inaccessible or potentially subject to disruption by climate change—and to make those points more resilient. This step also enables stakeholders—both external

figure 4:The conception of gateway systems

Source: ISET (2008)

Tertiary system:education, health, local market,

finance

Secondary systems:Transport, communications,

livelihood

Core systems: water food

energy ecosystems

Governance

Social Protection

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analysts and locals—to identify who would be most harmed by climate change and, by improving gateway systems, most able to build their adaptive capacity.

Gateway systems are classified as core, secondary and tertiary types (see Table 1).

Therefore, an assessment of gateway systems can reveal the nature of the services they provide and how accessible they are, particularly to marginalised groups, as well as the degree to which they are likely to be disrupted by the direct impacts of climate change. If they are assessed at the VDC level, the relative vulnerability of each ward in that VDC becomes evident. To reiterate, the two main epistemological approaches to assessing vulnerability are the natural hazard research-based and

the social vulnerability approaches. The social vulnerability approach begins by assessing vulnerabilities already embedded in a given social context; it considers those characteristics of people or groups and their situation which influence their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural hazard. The natural hazards school of thought, in contrast, takes a positivist approach to development; its focus is on the technological management of risk and sees risk reduction as a physical task. To assess the relative vulnerability of each ward, the natural hazard approach was applied and then a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods were used to capture a sense of the embedded social vulnerability. The results of both approaches were used to develop a lAPA.

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Table 1 Core, secondary and tertiary gateway systems

System Indicators

Broad Disaggregated

Core energy, drinking water, land, forest, food, ecosystem services

1. energy: clean energy and traditional and fossil-fuel based energy

2. Water: drinking water and irrigation

3. land: holding sizes and proportion of disaster-affected land

4. food: food sufficiency

Secondary Transport and mobility, communication,

livelihood (agriculture, irrigation, forestry, shelter)

5. Mobility: distance to highway, road density

6. Communication: coverage of telephones, landline and mobile

7.livelihoods: forest and agriculture based households, Households affected by climate hazards

8. Shelter: types of houses

Tertiary Markets, taxation system), financial services

health, education, social networks, non-farm production systems such as service and industries

9. literacy and education attainment

10. Access to health facilities and sanitation coverage

11. numbers of user groups, and local organisations

13. Presence of and accessibility to markets

14. Government agencies

15. Access to banking and cooperatives

Kapilbastu District is the westernmost section of the contiguous region of the northern Indo-Gangetic Plain. Along with Palpa, rupandehi and the Tarai section of nawalparasi districts, it lies within the rTb basin, named after the rohini, Tinau, and banganga rivers which drain it. Kapilbastu stretches between 82°41’e and 84° 14’e longitude and 27°25’n and 27°49’n latitude and its area of 1,738 km2 encompasses three distinct geographical zones: the lower Chure and the bhabar, the middle Tarai and the lower Tarai.

Kapilbastu District was purposively chosen for piloting for four reasons:

• ISET-Nhasaccesstolocalgroupsthroughlocalpartners

• Theleadresearcherhasworkedinthedistricton food system vulnerability

• ISET-Nisinvolvedinfoodsystemresearchinthe rTb basin, and

• WithanHDIof0.437andapercapitaincomeof uS$206 (nepal District Profile, 2006), Kapilbastu is the poorest district in the Tarai.

In the following section the macro context of Kapilbastu is presented.

Climate and natural resources

Kapilbastu has a humid, subtropical climate. Its average annual temperatures range from a maximum of 43°C in the summer to a minimum of 4.5°C in the winter. Its average annual rainfall is 1,850 mm, about 80% of which falls during the monsoon season, from mid-June to mid-September. Various lakes, including the ramsar wetlands site Jagadishpur reservoir, are located here and its major rivers include the banganga, Arra, Aghiya and Surahi. Groundwater is the major source of drinking water. According to CbS, 2001 census, 40.5 percent of people use tube wells for extracting groundwater for drinking purposes.

bIoPHySICAl AnD SoCIo-eConoMIC ConTexT of KAPIlbASTu: PIloT STuDy DISTrICT

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Demography

In 2001, Kapilbastu had a total population of 481,976 distributed across 77 VDCs and one municipality. The population was increasing at 2.6% annually and there were slightly more men than women: 105.88 to 100. The Central bureau of Statistics (CbS) reported in 2004 that the average household size was increasing and cited a figure of 6.6 persons per household, which is significantly higher than the national average of 5.4. The population density in Kapilbastu, 277 people per square kilometre, was also higher than the national average of 157. only 35.8% are literate (compared to a national average of 53.74%) and the per capita income in Kapilbastu District is uS$206, uS$240 less than the national average (nepal District Profile, 2006). Indeed, the district is one of the least economically developed of all the Tarai districts. The population in the northern zone is more heterogeneous than in the southern and central regions, where the Madhesis, or people of Tarai origin, dominate.

Agriculture

The soil, climate and rainfall pattern of Kapilbastu district make it very suitable for agriculture, and, indeed, 93,855 hectares of land is arable, which constitutes 93.5 % of the total area. Slightly over 37% is irrigated, generally by groundwater. The remaining 62.7 % of non-irrigated land is totally dependent on rainfall; since rainfall is erratic, both agricultural production and productivity suffer. There are reports that the groundwater level has been depleted, but these are anecdotal. not all areas of the district have access to underlying aquifers. (See figure 6.)

Infrastructure

Drinking water: As is the case in the rest of the Tarai, the primary source of drinking water in Kapilbastu is groundwater. Most of the aquifers underlying it are shallow and are accessed using tube wells. In the northern zone in the Chure foothills, in contrast, surface sources are both available and exploited. In the mid-1990s, the government of finland provided technical assistance to nepal to improve the drinking water and sanitation services in the lumbini Zone. Kapilbastu was one of the six districts which received technical and financial support to that end. Altogether, 100,000 people were benefited by 108 schemes, all of which met national standards (Sharma, 2001).iv As a result of this project, the district is well covered by drinking water supply

figure 6:Agriculture land in Kapilbastu

Source: District profile of Kapilbastu-2005

Table 2 Demographic details in 2001Year Total

populationMale Female Area

(km2)Population density (persons/km2)

Sex ratio(male:female)

No. of households

Average household size (no. of members)

2001 481,976 247,875 234,101 1,738 277 105.88:100 72932 6.61

2010 (projected)

607, 228 287,093 294,937 ,, 349 122:100 91,885 8

Source: District and VDC profile of Nepal-2010 and District profile of Kapilbastu-2005

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systems: officially, 83% of households are served by taps and piped water systems or tube wells. The rest rely on a variety of sources, including traditional wells. Some wells, however, have been contaminated by naturally-occurring arsenic.

Roads: According to Moench and Dixit (2004), the ability to move to access jobs and

sources of livelihood, enables individuals to adapt to stress induced by climate variability and climate change. A robust road infrastructure serves as the backbone of such mobility and the overall socio-economic development that supports livelihood diversification, better health services, and, through distribution, food security. road coverage, by both all-weather and seasonal roads, is fairly good in Kapilbastu (see Table 4).

Communications: Public access to information and means of communication is always important for accessing goods and services, but such access is crucial during times of disaster. There are not enough telephone services in Kapilbastu district and most are concentrated in the district’s one municipality and its large towns. Since only 5.6% live in urban areas of the district, the majority of the population still faces a considerable challenge when it comes to accessing information. In recent times, however, the increasing availability and affordability of mobile phones and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) phones has helped the local population stay informed.

Table 3Sources of drinking water


Source Tap/pipe Well Tube well Spout River/stream Other Unspecified

Households(no.)

31,008 6,010 29,573 126 183 4,975 1,058

Households(%)

42.5 8.2 40.5 0.17 0.25 6.8 1.4

Table 4Road length in kilometres and their types


Road type Length (km) Road density (distance/sq.km)

black-topped 150.27 0.086

Gravel 402.19 0.231

fair-weather 777.2 0.447


Table 5Telephone systemsTelephone type Number

PSTn (landline) 2557

CDMA 2778

Prepaid GSM1 5237

Sky phone 1456

Internet 1020

Cable operator 4

IDenTIfICATIon of VDCS

figure 7:Kapilbastu District

Source: Modified from Digital Himalaya, 2011

Table 6VDCs in the northern, central and southern zones

Zone Names of VDCs

northern 1. banganga 2. Motipur 3. bhalwad 4. Mahendrakot 5. Dubiya 6. barkalpur 7. Shivapur 8. Shivagadhi 9. Gugauli.

Central 1. Gajehada 2. Kopuwa 3. Hathausa 4. Patana 5. Pataria 6. Phulika 7. nandanagar 8. Jahadi 9. niglihawa 10. Tilaurakot 11. Dhankauli 12. Jayanagar 13. buddhi 14. rajpur 15. Hariharpur 16. Mahuwa 17. Maharajganj 18. balarampur 19. Manpur 20. baraipur 21. udayapur 22. lalpur 23. Thunhia 24. Chanai 25. birpur 26. Jawabhari 27. bisunpur28. Patthardehia 29. Ganeshpur 30. Khurhuriya.

Southern 1. labani 2. bithuwa 3. Hathihawa 4. bijuwa 5. baskhor 6. Pakadi 7. Abhiraw 8. Dumara 9. baluhawa 10. Pipara 11. Titirkhi 12. Harnampur 13. Dharampania 14. Dohani 15. Kapilbastu nP 16. Gauri 17. basantapur 18. rangapur 19. Parsaohiya 20. baidauli 21. Gotihawa 22. Soraha 23. Simhakhor 24. Somdiha 25. Hardauna 26. Kajarhawa 27. Sisawa 28. Kushahawa 29. bhaluwari 30. Ajigara 31. Milmi 32. bahadurganj 33. Purusottampur 34. Shivanagar 35. Vidyanagar 36. ramnagar 37. Krishnanagar 38. Sisahawa 39. bhagawanpur.

once Kapilbastu had been selected as an appropriate district, the next step was to identify VDCs for piloting. This required an iterative process which pushed beyond the level of understanding achieved through the initial scoping. The process selected was SlD. The research team needed to choose among the 77 VDCs and single municipality in the district, a choice made difficult by the diversity among them. The districts can be broadly divided into three zones—the north, the central and the south—each with different geographic, social and cultural contexts. nine, 30 and 39 districts fall respectively into the northern, central and southern zones (see Table 6). While in the north the population consists largely of Tharus

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and migrants from the hills, the central and southern zones have few hill migrants and more Kurmis and yadavs in addition to the Tharus. The south sees the addition of Muslims. Table 7 specifies the characteristics of each zone, while figure 5 shows the gradual decrease in elevation along a north-south transect.

each zone is characterised as follows.

Northern zone: This region of nine VDCs lies in the Chure foothills and bhabar zone north of the east-West Highway. Most people are farmers but the land is not fertile and agricultural productivity is low. Though the zone has many natural resources, it is socially and economically marginalised.

Central zone: This zone of 30 VDCs lies between the east-West Highway and the old hulaki (postal) road. not only does it get more rainfall than the other two zones but it is served by the banganga irrigation system. Jagadishpur reservoir, a ramsar wetlands site, also serves as a source of water for irrigation. Agricultural productivity is high in this zone.

Southern zone: This zone encompasses the 39 VDCs which lie between the old hulaki road and the border with uttar Pradesh. Collecting water from its tributaries, the banganga river enters uttar Pradesh from Hardauna in zone three. The livelihoods of the majority of the population are based on rain-fed agriculture as irrigation facilities are absent. Since there is no forestland, people burn animal dung to cook. recently,

reforestation programmes have been initiated in some parts of the zone by creating community forests run by local community forest user groups.

In line with the concept of SlD, which seeks to synthesise local, experiential knowledge and scientific study, to identify the most vulnerable of VDCs in each zone, the research team referred to secondary documents and held discussions with officials of rural Self-reliance Development Centre (rSDC) and other non-government organisations to get their input. rSDC implements poverty alleviation programmes in the most deprived communities and districts of nepal, including Kapilbastu. Together, the reports and discussions formed the basis for identifying the five most vulnerable VDCs in each zone (see Table 8). This would give researchers a wider canvass to locate the most vulnerable VDC in each zone.

When the preliminary list of VDCs selected was shared with DDC officials during a district-level SlD on August 8, 2010, the team discovered the DDC office had

Table 7Characteristics of the northern, central, and southern zonesZone No. of

VDCsElevation Characteristics

Physical Social

northern 9 >400 m Chure foothills and bhabar which is rocky and readily eroded

Tharu and hill migrants

Central 30 <144 m Tarai plains Tharu, Kurmi and yadav

Southern 38 < 90 m Tarai plains Kurmi, yadav, Muslim and Tharu

figure 8:Longitudinal profile of Kapilbastu District

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already developed criteria (see annex I) to identify the most vulnerable and deprived VDCs in the district.5 This was one of the benefits of the SlD which allows/facilitates two way information exchanges. using this ranking, the team identified the single most vulnerable VDC in each zone (see Annex II and figure 9): Dubiya in the north, Khurhuriya in the Central and Hardauna in the South. These were endorsed by the DDC and other participants in the SlDs as the most vulnerable and were the VDCs selected for the pilot. Shivagadi, a VDC that experienced communal violence in the aftermath of ending of nepal’s Maoist insurgency was also selected. figure 9 shows the locations of these four VDCs and Table 9, their characteristics.

Almost 80% of the people in the four VDCs depend on agriculture to earn their livelihoods. livestock is an important component of the system and rice is the major cereal crop. Wheat, maize, pulses and mustard are other commonly cultivated crops, and some families also grow vegetables, mostly for domestic consumption. A few families sell their produce at butwal. other common means of earning a livelihood include: work in the service sector, off-farm wage labour and seasonal migration to India. Migration to Gulf countries is a recent phenomenon, and is on the rise. All four VDCs are ethnically diverse but Tharus dominate in Dubiya and Muslims in Hardauna. The ethnic compositions in Shivagadi and Khurhuriya include Kurmis, Tharus, Muslims, yadavs, brahmins, Chhetris, Magars and Dalits.

Table 8The preliminary identification of the five most vulnerable VDCs in each zoneZone VDCs identified after initial ranking

northern Motipur bhalwad Mahendrakot Dubiya bakalpur

Central Ganeshpur Khurhuriya Patthardehia bishanpur birpur

Southern Hardauna Somdiha Kajarhawa Simhakhor baidauli

Table 9Characteristics of the four selected VDCs Zone VDC Characteristics

northern Dubiya location: Chure foothills

Area: 79.65 km2

Population: 5,885 living in 1,061 houses.

Central Khurhuriya location: Western Kapilbastu District

Area: 24.62 km2

Population: 7,881 living in 1,334 houses

Southern Hardauna location: Adjoining the Indian border

Area: 9.13 km2

Population: 4,757 people living in 652 houses.

northern Shivagadi location: Chure foothills

Area: 76.34 km2

Population: 6,349 living in 1,091 houses.

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Floods: TThe Tarai region as a whole has a long history of frequent flooding and Kapilbastu is no exception. It is prone to inundation, riverbank cutting and erosion and sediment deposition, all events which affect local livelihoods and debilitate the poor. All four of the selected VDCs experience frequent flooding. Hardauna is threatened by the banganga river, Dubiya by the Guduriya and Shivagadi by the Surai. Khurhuriya, which lies in the central zone, is threatened by flash floods. field-level assessment found that river erosion had consumed land, destroying livelihoods and displacing populations. In the northern zone floods had deposited boulders and sand on fertile agricultural land.

farmers suggest that rainfall has grown more erratic and flash floods more common, and that the resultant droughts and inundations have decreased agricultural production. However, when floods bring fertile alluvial soil, productivity goes up. In Hardauna, the fact that sedimentation causes the banganga river to change its course every year has threatened settlements along both of its banks (see figure 10). In fact, erosion along the banganga has forced almost the entire population of Ward number 4 to move to adjoining wards.

ClIMATe-InDuCeD HAZArDS

Drought: The people of all four selected VDCs report that drought, which they define as the condition of having no rain when it is most needed, is increasing. Drought conditions affect seed bed preparation for the sowing of paddy, wheat and other winter crops. none of the four have reliable irrigation facilities and rainfall is variable, leaving them vulnerable. Some

figure 8:The shifting course of the Banganga River at Hardauna (Modified from Google maps)

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farmers are proactive and use rainwater collected in ditches and ponds for irrigating crops. Khurhuriya VDC in the central zone is most severely affected by droughts.

Fog: fog is a natural phenomenon in the Tarai winters but over the last 10 years, the number of days of thick fog and cold waves has increased. Winter fog now lingers for several weeks to even entire months. When there is fog for extended periods, the production of winter crops, especially potatoes and pulses, is adversely affected. Winter fog is heaviest in Hardauna. In Khurhuriya it is moderate and only light fog affects Shivagadi and Dubiya VDCs.

Fire: According to the nepal Disaster report of 2009, fire is a recurring disaster in nepal.

every year, particularly during the dry season from february to May, a large number of incidents of fire are reported, mostly in the Tarai, where about three-quarters of houses are built with thatched roofs. As is the case elsewhere in the Tarai, fire is a major hazard in Kapilbastu. Tharu communities are especially vulnerable to fires because of the density of their settlements and because they build thatched houses due to their poor economic condition.

Windstorms: farmers report that the gentle winds of the past have been replaced by powerful storms that damage crops. They claim that the absence of gentle winds has forced them to use machines to separate grain from the chaff and that strong westerly winds blow more frequently, often fiercely enough to seriously damages crops.

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In order to assess the status of the gateway systems of each VDC at the ward level, the pilot team began by conducting an SlD at the district level with the staff of local government bodies at the DDC, VDC and ward levels, non-government organisations and other stakeholders. Topics of discussion included issues such as education, literacy, women’s literacy, access to health services, communication and the availability of and access to resources. The information shared was then used to assess how vulnerable each ward in each VDC is. This assessment is essential for preparing effective local-level adaptation plans, as it is only after a thorough understanding has been arrived at, of the points at which gateway systems are fragile, poor quality, inaccessible and or subject to disruption by climate change, that practical steps can be taken to increase the resilience of those points and thereby increase the adaptive capacity of the system as a whole. The evaluation considered the nature and accessibility of the services which the three levels of gateway service provide, and the degree to which each could be disrupted by the direct impacts of climate change.

Core systems

Core systems are foundational. As discussed above, if such systems are of poor quality, inaccessible, or likely be affected by climate change, adaptive resilience will be depleted. Table 10 summarises the status of core gateway systems in the four selected VDCs. Ward-level details are provided in Annex I and summarised below.

STATuS of GATeWAy SySTeMS AnD SerVICeS

Table 10Status of selected core systems

Source: Field Study, 2010

VDC Energy Water Land Food sufficiency (% households

Cooking (% relying on traditional sources)

Lighting (% with access to solar and electricity)

Drinking (no. households per tube well)

Irrigation (% arable land irrigated)

Averageland-holding size (ha)

Disaster-affected land (%)

Dubiya 99.5 88.7 5.2 44.8 0.86 0.367 15.7

Hardauna 99.8 29.4 2.5 14.7 1.46 26.94 19.12

Khurhuriya 99.1 36.7 1.9 29.9 1.51 0 25.6

Shivagadi 94.8 84.6 1.1 31.9 0.95 3.48 25.8

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Energy: A supply of energy, whether it is biomass, electricity, solar, fossil fuels or other source, is important for adaptation. The current status of the energy system - its accessibility, reliability and affordability - needs to be mapped so that it is clear how it can be exploited to diversify productive sectors. In Kapilbastu, 28.4% of households are supplied with electricity from nepal’s national grid, all of whom use it for lighting. The proportion of households in the four selected VDCs which have access to electricity is much higher - 59.9% overall - with service in Dubiya and Shivagadi high - at 88.7% and 84.6% respectively - and that in Khurhuriya and Hardauna low, just 36.7% and 29.4% respectively. because the nationally available supply of electricity has not kept pace with rising demand, Kapilbastu, like every other district in the nation, faces power cuts of 12-14 hours a day. for cooking, the majority of the population in the selected VDCs use traditional sources of energy, including firewood and animal dung. VDCs such as Dubiya, which are close to the Chure Hills use firewood, while those along the border with India, rely on animal dung because these VDCs have no forest. All VDCs rely almost exclusively on traditional sources of energy to cook - 99.8%, 99.5%, 99.1%, and 94.8% of households in Hardauna, Dubiya, Khurhuriya and Shivagadi respectively use these sources.

Water: Water is a central component of both the weather and climate, as well as being essential for meeting basic human needs for survival. Drinking water and irrigation coverage varies considerably in the four selected VDCs.

Drinking water: In Kapilbastu as a whole, the main source of drinking water is tube wells. This is also the case in the four VDCs, none of which have any piped drinking water systems. on average, four households share a tube well. The proportions of households using tube wells for drinking water in Dubiya

and Hardauna is high - 90% and 95% - while that in Shivagadi and Khurhuriya is low - about 45%. In Dubiya VDC, 5 households depend upon 1 tubewell while in Hardauna it is 2.5 and in Khurhuriya it is 2. In Shivagadi VDC, every household has a tubewell.

Irrigation: In Kapilbastu District as a whole, 31.14% of arable land is irrigated. Dubiya in the north has the highest proportion of irrigated land of the four VDCs - 44.8% - and with just 14.7% of its land irrigated, Hardauna in the South has the lowest. In Khurhuriya and Shivagadi VDCs, the proportions irrigated are 27.9% and 31.9% respectively. The ponds in Kapilbastu are in poor condition. Some have silted up because they are not cleaned regularly while others have dried up or been encroached upon. Some are in such a bad state that people no longer use them. recently, however, there has been an effort to restore some ponds, including Phubia lake in Dubiya VDC.

Food sufficiency: The total agricultural production of Kapilbastu is enough to meet the needs of the local population. According to the nepal District Profile (2006), the annual production of the district is 138,912 MT, of which 45,794 MT is surplus. The picture at the local level, however, is very different indeed. field assessments in the four selected VDCs revealed that only 25.75% of households produce enough food for a year.

Landholdings: According to the 2001 Census, the average size of landholdings in Kapilbastu District is second largest in the nation—1.25 ha per household. The estimated landholding sizes are greatest in the northern and central zones - 1.35 ha, 1.64 ha, and 1.46ha in Dubiya, Khurhuriya, and Shivagadi VDCs respectively - and smallest in Hardauna in the southern zone (0.93 ha). With the growth in population over the last decade, the average landholding sizes have obviously decreased.

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Secondary systems

While core systems help meet basic needs and are a necessary condition for adaptation, they alone are insufficient to enable individuals, households and communities to switch strategies. Shifts need the additional support of secondary systems, which include transportation, communication, means of livelihood and shelter. If these systems are in a fragile state or of poor quality or have been damaged by natural disasters, a strategy switch will be difficult to achieve. The status of the secondary gateway systems in each of the four selected VDCs is summarised in Table 11 below.

Mobility: not all areas of Kapilbastu have a year-round transport system, as some are served only by seasonal roads which are impassable during the monsoon season. The northern VDCs, Dubiya and Shivagadi, are better served than the central and southern VDCs of Khurhuriya and Hardauna, with locals having to walk shorter distances to the nearest road and road density three or more times greater. The road density in Dubiya, Khurhuriya, Shivagadi and Hardauna is 1.12, 0.24, 1.49 and 1.49, respectively.

Communication: Communication opens up many opportunities for adaptation, but there are few telephone services available in Kapilbastu and most are concentrated in

urban areas. In recent times the availability of mobile phones and CDMA has improved communication facilities in Kapilbastu, but the average for the four VDCs is just 10 individuals to a mobile phone. Khurhuriya - with over 16 to a mobile - is least serviced and Hardauna -with 5.6 - is best serviced. Though Dubiya VDC lies in the Chure region, it has the highest mobile phone coverage among the four VDCs.

Livelihood: As Kapilbastu District has a favourable environment for cultivation and a large proportion of arable land, the majority of people depend on agriculture to earn a livelihood. even in Hardauna, where landholdings are small and irrigation facilities limited, 58.41% of the population are farmers. In the other three VDCs, reliance on agriculture is much higher: 80.2% of people in Shivagadi, 85.96% in Dubiya, and 93.83% in Khurhuriya 93.83% depend on agriculture. Paddy, wheat and maize are the major crops grown. Smaller proportions of people depend on services business, forest products and small industries for their livelihood. People in each VDC reported that they are affected by climate related hazards. Among the four VDCs, Hardauna is severely affected by climate related hazards and Khurhuriya is least affected. In Hardauna 39.9 percent, in Shivagadi 17.9 in Dubiya 11.03 and in Khurhuriya 9.6 percent of households are reportedly affected by climate related hazards.

Table 11Secondary systems


VDC Transportation Communications Livelihood Shelter

Average distance to highway (km)

Road density(distance/area)

Households per mobile (no.)

Population engaged in agriculture (%)

Households affected by climate hazards (%)

Households living in cement houses (%)

Dubiya 7.2 1.12 7.57 85.96 11.03 38.37

Hardauna 24.1 0.37 5.6 58.41 39.9 66.91

Khurhuriya 13.8 0.24 16.3 93.83 9.6 49.4

Shivagadi 4.1 1.49 9.46 80.2 17.9 22.8

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Shelter: The type of house a household lives in, determines both the health condition of the people living there and their level of resilience to climatic hazards. fewer people in Dubiya and Shivagadi live in cement houses (38.37% and 22.8% respectively) than those in Hardauna and Khurhuriya (66.9% and 49.4% respectively). Those who do not live in cement houses build with local materials such as mud and thatch.

Tertiary systems

Tertiary-level systems, which embed both secondary and core systems, include banking and credit, health, education and political representation. both the fragility of the systems and the quality of their service provision must be assessed since their dysfunction prevents or hinders local populations from shifting strategies. The status of tertiary systems in the four selected VDCs is summarised in Table 12 below.

Education: The literacy rate of Kapilbastu District as a whole is almost 42%. While Dubiya and Shivagadi have higher than average rates (57.8% and 55.09% respectively), Hardauna and Khurhuriya have much lower rates (38.1% and 13.6% respectively). All four VDCs have both primary and lower secondary schools but only Shivagadi has a higher secondary school that includes classes 9 and 10. Students generally go to Taulihawa, butwal or Kathmandu for higher education. Generally hill groups who have migrated tend to be more educated.

Health and sanitation: eeach VDC has a health post which provides basic health services, but local people have to travel to butwal, Gorusinghe, Taulihawa or Kathmandu for better quality treatment. Water-related diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery and typhoid are common in all four VDCs and the consumption of arsenic-contaminated ground water has caused major health problems. Mosquito-borne diseases, such as Japanese encephalitis, malaria and dengue fever, are also prevalent.

except for Khurhuriya, which claims to have 100% sanitation coverage, sanitation is poor in the pilot area. In Dubiya, just 32.4% of households have toilets; in Shivagadi, 26.2%; and in Hardauna, 2.1%. Most people use open fields or riverbanks as their toilets. The case of Khurhuriya needs an explanation. About one year prior to the survey, the DDC as part of its ‘open-toilet free zone’ initiative had helped construct a temporary toilet for every household in the VDC. However, most of those toilets no longer exist. This lacuna suggests that deeper sensitivity will be needed in implementing adaptation activities.

Financial institutions: Despite the fact that the rural Self-reliance Development Centre, as part of its programme for promoting self-reliance, helped establish cooperatives in the district, the cooperative density in Kapilbastu District is very low with just an average of 2.15 per VDC. Dubiya and Hardauna each have one cooperative, Khurhuriya has two and Shivagadi has three. none of VDCs

Table 12Tertiary systems


VDC Literacy

(%)

Sanitation coverage (%)

Cooperatives

(no.)

Nearest markets

(Km)

Local organisations

(no.)

Distance to nearest government office (km)

Dubiya 57.8 32.4 2 8 19 6.9

Hardauna 41.1 2.1 1 11 24 9.7

Khurhuriya 13.6 100 2 14 14 2.2

Shivagadi 55.09 26.2 1 8 24 2.6

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have a bank or other financial institutions so people have to walk a long distance to get a loan or to deposit their earnings.

Markets: Chandrauta, Gorusinghe, Krishnanagar, Jitpur and Taulihawa are the nearest markets and where people in the pilot area sell their agricultural, livestock and other products. These markets are 5 - 25 km away. The average distance of the nearest market from both Shivagadi and Dubiya is 8 km; from Hardauna, 11 km and from Khurhuriya, 14 km.

Local organisations: All four VDCs have local community-based organisations which help mobilise local resources. They include community forest user groups, irrigation user groups, livestock groups, agricultural groups, youth clubs and mothers’ groups. Hardauna and Shivagadi each have 24 local organisations; Dubiya has 19; and Khurhuriya 14.

Government organisations: To assess the accessibility of local government services, the distances of the closest agriculture service center, livestock service center, police station, forest range post to the wards were estimated. In the Tarai, this distance is accessible but it can be large in the hills. In Kapilbastu each VDC has an office but the local level functionaries are either not present, possess no capacity, or/ and have no resources. In many cases local armed outfits have threatened the functionaries with physical threats and they are absent. This causes an institutional vacuum at that level. It is expected that these limitations will improve as the political context stabilizes. for the purpose of this pilot, the average from the main village of the ward was calculated and the distance estimated. The average distance to these services from Dubiya is 6.9 km; from Shivagadi, 2.6 km; from Khurhuriya, 2.2 km and from Hardauna, 9.7 km.

Ahmad and Mustafa (2007) suggest that the concept of vulnerability is at the heart of our understanding of how individuals, households, communities, institutions, social relationships and natural systems are affected by climate variability and climate change and their associated risks. They argue that vulnerability is both a conceptual lens and a discourse that facilitates engagement with both the biophysical aspects of disaster risk and the social structures that create conditions of differential risk in any given society. Vulnerability is embedded in the social context and is a function of the marginality of different groups, the fragility of the systems they rely on, the exposure of those systems and populations, and their activities in response to specific climate hazards. Vulnerability is dynamic and will alter as climate change begins to impact the inter-linkages among the gateway systems described above.

The challenge the pilot team faced was to devise ways to find out which individuals and households in each of the four selected VDCs were most vulnerable to climate change impacts, so that they could be targeted for the pilot interventions. There was a need to both establish clarity about the concept of adaptive capacity and to develop a process that would include both the natural hazard-based and the social approaches to vulnerability in its efforts to build adaptive capacity. In considering socially imbedded vulnerability, we began with the definition of vulnerability offered by Wisner et al. (2004), ”the characteristics of a person or group and their situation that influence their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural hazard (an extreme natural event or process)’. Their definition suggests that adaptive capacity is the inverse of vulnerability.

To capture the vulnerability of a local region and the population living there, however, requires more than a conceptual understanding: there needs to be an analytical tool. every group in every community across nepal has, at any given point in time, its own unique set of differential vulnerabilities (Dixit, 2010). The question is how climate change will alter them, whether by mitigating or exacerbating them. To suggest an answer, we used gateway systems as a set of indicators of vulnerability, both elaborating our conceptual framework and establishing an operational method to measure adaptive capacity. our work has an insightful precedent: in discussing indicators of the adaptive capacity to respond to stresses due to climate change and other drivers of change, Smit et al. (2001) identified economic resources, technology, information, skill, infrastructure, institutions and equity as indicators of adaptive capacity in the context of climate change.6 The rationale they associate with each determinant provides guidance for using gateway systems as an indicator for ranking vulnerability.

VulnerAbIlITy rAnKInG

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To assess the vulnerability of each of the nine wards of the four VDCs - 36 altogether - we collected information about 14 indicators associated with each of the core, secondary and tertiary systems listed in Table 1 and arranged it in a spreadsheet. The status of the gateway system indicators was converted to a percentage of service coverage (see Annex II) and on the basis of that coverage, the wards of the four VDCs were ranked, with no. 36 being the most vulnerable ward and no. 1 to the least, for each indicator. The totals of the rankings were then calculated to determine the most and least vulnerable wards overall in each VDC (see Table 13). In addition, the wards were classified by degree of vulnerability as very low, low, moderate, high,

and very high (see figure 7). for example, because Ward no. 1 of Hardauna VDC has no access to electricity it was ranked 36, or most vulnerable, in terms of that indicator, while Ward no. 8 of Dubiya, which boasts electricity coverage of 98%, was ranked 1, or least vulnerable.

The ranking of the wards described above is based solely on the natural hazards-based perspective and, while it does not include any assumptions or bias, it is only one side of the proverbial coin. once the most vulnerable ward in each VDC had been identified, the next step was to consider the social marginality of the people in that ward so that we could assess the embedded nature of vulnerability. Different methods of assessment, including wealth ranking and vulnerability capacity assessment, can be used to determine which individuals, households and communities are denied

figure 11:Vulnerability ranking of selected wards

Table 13Most and least vulnerable wards in each of the four selected VDCs


VDC Vulnerable ward

Most least

Dubiya 1 8

Hardauna 1 5

Khurhuriya 7 8

Shivagadi 8 7

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the benefits of a particular gateway service. Determining who is left out, in turn, reveals who is vulnerable and in what way they are vulnerable. once this determination is made, strategies for building adaptive capacity can be specifically targeted towards those people.

While this approach helped us assess the current state of marginality (see the next section), our ultimate aim was to capture the dynamic nature of vulnerability, to assess its fluctuations as climate change introduces new constraints and opportunities. We approached this challenge by first assessing how local climates would change and then envisioning different scenarios for the future. Since a VDC is too small a unit to consider with the existing data sets and modelling, the localising of climate change was done, as is discussed later, at the district scale.

The resilience of service-providing gateway systems is an important but not exclusive

determinant of adaptive capacity. Access to the benefits these systems provide is critical. Systems may exist but if individuals, households and groups do not have access to them and the services they provide, then the systems are as good as non-existent. In nepal, access to systems and services are influenced by factors such as education, wealth, gender, caste and social position and is not equal for all. These factors enable some groups to gain disproportionate access to the benefits of systems and deprive others. As a result of such differential access to gateway systems, some individuals and groups will be better positioned than others to respond to the opportunities and constraints they face due to climate change and others stresses. Thus, it is the social aspect of vulnerability - the degree of marginalisation from systems essential to resilience - which may determine who will be able to adapt and do well and who will merely cope.

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In deciding what methods to use to identify which individuals and households are most marginalised in each of the four most vulnerable wards, it is useful to examine how the disadvantaged are identified in development programmes in nepal. Different development programmes use a range of tools, including wealth ranking, capacity assessment and gender analysis to identify marginalised and disadvantaged households and to differentiate among them (Jha et al., 2009). Similar methods may be used to identify marginalised or disadvantaged households with respect to vulnerability to climate change. It is important to keep in mind that poverty is different from vulnerability, though the terms are often used synonymously. Poverty is the current status of deprivation, lack or want; it includes, for example, the lack of access to material, political, and cultural resources and of the capacities necessary to participate fully in economic and social life (Ahmad & Mustafa, 2007). Vulnerability, on the other hand, is a dynamic state that varies as new constraints and opportunities arise. While poverty is, in a sense, the unaddressed vulnerability of the past, vulnerability is the ever-changing degree of defenselessness, insecurity or susceptibility to loss caused by exposure to disaster, shock, or unequal risk (yamin et al., 2005). It can also be seen as the capacity of individuals, households, communities and systems to be harmed.

THe MArGInAlISeD

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Table 14Marginal communities

VDC Vulnerability Ward Reasons for vulnerability Marginal communities

Dubiya Most vulnerable 1 lack of income, arsenic-contaminated drinking water, traditional farming systems, mobility problems, no access to health and education

Dalits of Mormi village

least vulnerable 8 VDC office, health post, road, school, settlement of hill migrants

Shivagadi Most vulnerable 8 Poverty, landlessness Dalits

ethnic minorities

least vulnerable 5 High literacy rate, cooperatives, clubs

Hardauna Most vulnerable 1 riverbank cutting, few educational institutes, poverty, lack of clean drinking water, no access to community forestry, inconvenience of transportation, lack of irrigation facilities, high proportion of Dalits

Dalits of Hardauna village

least vulnerable 8 few Dalits, land relatively unaffected by floods

Khurhuriya Most vulnerable 7 lack of awareness, schools, drinking water, irrigation, health services, forest resource, non-government and community-based organisations, industry, and electrification; poor condition of roads; forest encroachment

Chutpatis

Dalits

bichuduhuwas

Tharus

least vulnerable 6 local market, primary school, non-government and community-based organisations, transportation facilities

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During the district-level SlDs held in Taulihawa, the headquarters of Kapilbastu, participants identified ethnic minority and Dalit households as being most disadvantaged in terms of not being able to access services from gateway systems (see Table 14). Though their livelihoods are based on agriculture, very few households are food sufficient. Most do not own their own land, are uneducated, and engage in menial labour. They do not have reliable access to basic clean drinking water and sanitation services, and are unaware of the benefits of good personal hygiene. Ward-based geographical targeting was a useful approach consistent with what bennett et al. (2005) suggest about the nature of marginality, which is that women face additional burdens at households level and that economically deprived groups face additional burdens at community level (figure 12). This continuum of marginality can be used as a tool to assist in assessing vulnerability to climate change.

There is, however, a caveat in the selection of indicators for assessing which groups in a community are the most disadvantaged: a study of marginality in nepal indicates that while there is some consistency in the use of the tools such as wellbeing ranking and the consensus of participants there are also contradictions (Jha et al., 2009), and that both the indicators used and the very definition of the poor itself vary, leading to confusion and inconsistencies in identifying the most disadvantaged groups (Hobley and Paudyal, 2008). The concerns that Jha et al. (2009) raise with respect to the conventional process of identifying disadvantaged households are worth noting. They are as follows:

• The level of subjectivity is high since categorisation depends on who participates in the discussions.

• The process is likely to be manipulated due to its linkage with project and programme benefits.

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figure 12:Marginality continuum from individual to global level

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• The use of different indicators and categorizations creates confusion and contradictions.

• The cost is high as different projects duplicate each other’s efforts.

• Various government bodies do not coordinate to ensure the poor access services.

• The practice of analysing and reflecting on local power structures in the process of identifying disadvantaged households is minimal.

the above reservations expressed by Jha et al. suggest not only that caution be taken in the process of identifying those likely to be affected by global climate change impacts but also that no one particular method will suffice in this process. they also underscore the need to employ an iterative process that allows experiential learning.

once the vulnerable wards in the selected VDCs and the vulnerable local population

within them had been identified, the next stage was to use a climate change lens to develop local climate change scenarios to explore future hazards and changes in vulnerability. This step helped the team and the local participants identify options for adaptation. for adaptive options to be effective, our approach to addressing climate vulnerability must seek to bring about the sorts of system-level reform that removes deprivation. Making strategic shifts is possible only in an institutional environment in which all individuals and groups have equal opportunities to realise their potential. The extant gateway systems, however, provide different levels of service to different individuals and groups, unduly benefiting some while marginalising others. What is needed, then, is to build a social-political system in which rule of law supports the provision of equal opportunities to all (bennett, 2005). This task is part of the larger challenge of governance mentioned in the conceptual framework (figure 4).

loCAl ClIMATe CHAnGe SCenArIo

General circulation models suggest that one impact of climate change - rise in average temperatures - may be most intense at high elevations and in regions with complex topographies, as is the case in nepal’s Mahabharat and Himalayan ranges. Indeed, temperatures are increasing in nepal (Shrestha et al., 1999) and rainfall is becoming more erratic. More recently, a 2009 modelling exercise found that temperatures in the Middle Mountains will increase in the future and that the region is likely to grow more arid in the non-monsoon seasons. The study also revealed that precipitation is likely to be more erratic and that storm intensity will probably increase (nCVST, 2009). To generate a picture of climate change in nepal, nCVST (2009) followed the classification of Kansakar et al. (2004) and divided nepal into three regions based on the rivers draining them: from east to west, the Koshi, the narayani, and the Karnali river basin regions (see figure 13). Since Kapilbastu District falls within the Karnali river basin, it was the regional climate scenario generated for this basin that was used to develop local climate scenarios for Kapilbastu. Developing scenarios involved synthesising three key sets of information: data on historical trends, future projections, and local experiences.

firstly, years of temperature and rainfall data for Kapilbastu District recorded by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) was analysed by season - pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter. A key piece of data was the maximum daily rainfall recorded in the Karnali region: 460 mm in 24 hours in August 1998 in nawalparasi District east of Kapilbastu.

Secondly, the temperature and rainfall scenarios for the years 2030, 2060 and 2090 developed by nCVST (2009) using the Copenhagen projection of a two-degree rise in average global temperatures were considered. finally, the research team solicited local perceptions about

climate change. Together, these three sources of information—hard facts about past and present climatic trends, scientifically-generated models of future climate and the local experiences of climate change—were used to develop localised climate change scenarios.

Incorporating the third source of information was potentially problematic in conceptual terms. People experience current variability; models, in contrast, project future

figure 13:The three river basin-based regions used for developing climate scenarios: A is the Karnali; B, the Narayani; and C, the Sapta Koshi river basin Source: NCVST, 2009

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variability. The challenge lies in combining the two. Synthesising local perceptions with the trends documented in district-level meteorological data required making certain assumptions, including temperature increase and its impact on rainfall. However, since the very nature of projecting scenarios itself involves making assumptions - no one, after all, has a crystal ball with which to look into the future - this fact was particularly difficult. People recognize the current variability and the constraints it imposes on them. They make strategies to deal with it, but it is difficult to relate the current state to future anticipated conditions that climate change is likely to bring. The pilot team did not have a readymade tool to address this, and began by presenting the global and national climate change scenarios to the SlD participants. This scenario was then synthesised with existing temperature and rainfall data for the district and in the next stage with the perceptions of the participants. This later step needed an exercise in visioning and thinking about the future. The visioning process was also used later to assess future vulnerability to climate change at the ward level and how strengthening gateway systems would build adaptive capacity.

In line with global projections, national and district level data sets suggest that average temperatures in nepal are increasing. According to nCVST scenarios, by 2020 the mean temperature will have risen by 1.4°C. Precipitation data, in contrast, does not show a clear trend; on the contrary, there are large variations in projections of rainfall. Some GCMs suggest that there will be no significant changes in the total amount of annual rainfall though the number of rainy days will decrease (implying that the intensity of rainfall will increase). In contrast, one of the nCVST scenario models for the Karnali river basin in 2030, suggests rainfall will decrease by 31% relative to the mean of the three decades between 1970 and

1999. yet another GCM suggests that rainfall will actually increase by 16%. Such different estimations of future rainfall hardly inspire faith in scientific projections. In addition, all of these projections suffer a methodological limitation: no local-level rainfall data is available to validate or invalidate the projections. The GCM results, which are an output of assumptions, face major limitations in localising. While it is true that local people do suggest that both the spatial and temporal characteristics of rainfall have changed, these claims are based on feelings, memories and intuitively arrived at conclusions, not the indisputable testimony of empirically generated facts.

nCVST’s closest projection is for 2030, 20 years from the present 2011. The question arises as to how one projects what will happen in two decades, let alone five or eight (nCVST makes projections for 2060 and 2090 as well). Conceptually, this is a difficult question to answer. To help participants in SlDs grapple with this taxing concept, they were asked to imagine the future on the basis of current trends. Their response was typical. At first, they said it could not be done; they simply could not say what the climate would bring in 20 years. However, by introducing the idea of making assumptions, the participants were able to elicit two key perceptions that they all agreed the future would bring: A greater number of hot days and more erratic rainfall

Participants suggested that there would be no significant decrease in the total annual rainfall, but that pre-monsoon, post-monsoon and winter rainfall would decrease, as would the total number of rainy days. The details of these perceptions are presented in Tables 15 and 16. With local perceptions recorded, they were then synthesised with globally-generated scenarios of climate change for the region as a whole as well as with the meteorological data on the existing conditions in the

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Karnali river basin region, to provide a climate change lens with which to view the planning process.

This synthesis formed the basis for assessing how climate change, in terms of a two-degree rise in average temperature, will impact the gateway systems in the

four selected VDCs, thereby making marginalised households more vulnerable than they already are and threatening their development. once this impact was established, the next stage was to identify options for adaptation, which comprise elements of both planned and autonomous strategies.

Table 15Future temperatures change scenarioSource Basis Pre-Monsoon Monsoon Post-Monsoon Winter Annual Extremes

Max Min

DHM Current data in 0C (mean)

27.30 29.37 24.43 17.38 24.62 43 4.5

nCVST, 2009

relative1 change (0 C)

1.8(0.8, 2.1) 1.4(0.5, 2.2) 1.1(0.5, 2.0) 1.5(0.7, 2.8) 1.4(0.8, 2.0) Increase

Projected increase in 2030 in 0C (mean)

1.8 1.4 1.1 1.5 1.4

Scenario for 2030 in 0 C( mean)

29.1 30.77 25.53 18.88 26.02

District Trend Increase Decease Increase

national Trend Increase

local Perception Increase

Synthesis Increase

Table 16Future rainfall change scenario

Source: DHM, NCVST, 2009 and Field Study, 2010• Recorded at Nawalparasi east of Kapilbastu in 1998.

Sources Basis Pre Monsoon Post Winter Annual Daily

DHM Data

(in mm)

110.13 1632.49 80.08 45.70 1668.4 460*

nCVST, 2009 relative2 change (%)

-10 (-40, 16) 0(-14, 37) -5(-23, 125) -12(-40, 26) 0(-31, 16) Increase in heavy precipitation events

Projected change in mm

-11.02 no change -4.01 -5.49 no change

Scenario for 2030 in mm

99.11 no change 76.07 40.21 no change

local Perception erratic erratic Decrease Decrease no change rainy days decreasing

District Trend Increase Decrease Decrease Increase Decrease

national Trend erratic Increase erratic decrease no change

Synthesis Decrease erratic Decrease Decrease no change number of rainy days decreasing and more intense rainfall

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DeVeloPInG DeVeloPMenT SCenArIoS

With a clear local climate change scenario, our next step was to develop future impact scenarios that could assist in developing effective plans for building adaptive capacity at the ward, VDC and DDC levels. This step required consideration of what planning as an activity entails. Conventionally, governments have been at the forefront of planning. Their intention is to achieve the wellbeing of their citizens and they see planning, which can be defined in simple terms as an operational mechanism to achieve certain goals, as a key instrument. The limitation lies in guiding that mechanism effectively to reach the goal. With this understanding of what planning is, to serve as our guide, we determined that lAPA should expand and improve the quality of coverage of various gateway systems while at the same time attempting to reduce climate change-induced damage to those systems. The ultimate objective is to build adaptive capacity.

During the district-level SlD held at this stage, attempts were made to develop ward-level scenarios which would address two questions:

1. What are the likely implications of a two-degree temperature rise for the least vulnerable ward of the 36 wards in the four selected VDCs?

2. How would the vulnerability ranking of the most vulnerable ward in each selected VDC change once the condition of the gateway systems in that ward were strengthened?

In seeking answers to these questions, the participants decided at the outset that it would be the marginalised groups in the ward identified as most vulnerable that should be the primary beneficiaries of whatever plan was formulated. To address the likely implications of a two-degree temperature rise, participants developed a scenario of impacts on the gateway systems found in Ward no. 8 of Dubiya VDC, the least vulnerable of the 36 wards. As mentioned in Annex III(a), a number of assumptions, including impact on water resources and change in use of energy systems were made. following are some of assumption made for developing the scenario• Increaseininstancesofwaterinduceddisasters,• Degradationofdrinkingwaterquality,• Decreaseinarableland,• Lossoflivelihoodopportunities.

Participants identified the four hazards - drought, floods, fires and winter fog - which they believed would most likely occur in Kapilbastu District due to climate change and mapped them to show where they would most likely occur - agricultural fields, river junctions, forests, and low-lying land (see figures 14a and 14b). The exercise revealed that Dubiya VDC as whole will become more vulnerable to drought, floods, and fire and that, by implication,

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figure 14: (a)The natural features of Kapilbastu vulnerable to climate change; (b): The sections where systems are fragile

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Ward no. 8 will also become more vulnerable. Currently, while the vulnerability of the north-western portion of Ward no. 8 of Dubiya is high, its central region has a moderate vulnerability rating and the southern region is low (see figure 15). obviously, since this ward, the most robust of the 36, would slip in its vulnerability ranking, so would those already at the bottom of the hierarchy. In fact, intuitively, it is clear that the slippage would be far greater in the most marginalised ward and within that ward, it would be the most marginalised individuals, households and communities who would be hit hardest. Thus, the initial, un-deliberated determination to make these players the primary beneficiaries of plans to promote adaptive capacity was confirmed by a consideration of the natural hazards at play.

To answer the second question, it was assumed that various interventions would be made to enhance the status of the gateway systems (see Annex III (b) for a list of those assumptions) in the most vulnerable of the 36 wards - Ward no. 8 in Hardauna VDC - and that the most marginalised

figure 15: Changes in vulnerability Ward no 8 Dubiya VDC

community in that ward, the Dalits, would be the primary beneficiaries. The participants discussed how the vulnerability of the ward would decline if the gateway systems were made more robust. This process involved making assumptions such as follows:

• Improvingaccesstoreliablerenewableenergy for cooking and lighting,

• Reductioninlossduetowaterinduceddisaster by installing an early warning system,

• Improvementinthequalityofandaccessto drinking water,

• Improvementinmobility,• Opportunitiesfordiverselivelihoods.

The changes in ranking after adaptation interventions is shown in figure 16.

Considering both how the least vulnerable would become more so and also how the least robust would become more so, set the stage for identifying options for building local adaptive capacity. Conceptually, it was understood that if this process, of identifying the most vulnerable wards using biophysical data and the most vulnerable populations within them through

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Table 17A matrix of adaptation options by level of system and scale of implementation


Scale Core Secondary Tertiary

VDC Development of community forestry activities on public land

Stabilisation of rivers banks

Clean drinking water and sanitation programme

establishment of a nursery

Maintenance of lakes and ponds

Mitigation of arsenic contamination in drinking water

Poverty reduction

livestock development

fodder banks

Improved seeds

better access to fertilisers

Protection against fog for people and crops

Good-quality education

Skill development training

Health post

user group formation

Cooperatives

DDC electrification

flood management

Drinking water supply

early warning system

Information centres

Irrigation canal management

roads and bridges

buffer plantations on flood-eroded riverbanks and flood plains

Technological support for agriculture

Awareness-raising and motivation

financial institutions, including banks and money transfer

national Policy for expanding access to core system

resource transfer to and empowerment of DDCs

negotiations to level the playing field for energy security and to implement gateway systems

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discussion, were mainstreamed at the VDC or DDC level, it could be said that the local level governance unit would have used a climate change lens to assess vulnerability. Such a lens would incorporate both the natural hazards-based perspective (a top-down approach) and a social-political perspective (a bottom-up perspective) and yield a comprehensive range of options for adaptation. Prioritising a sub-set of these options would produce a programme to be implemented at the VDC level. ultimately, the SlD process would generate a fully-fledged project proposal, specifying a set of activities with objectives, tasks to be implemented to meet those objectives, the resources needed to do so, the agents responsible for performing the tasks and a plan for monitoring and evaluating the activities.

Identifying adaptation options

During the SlDs, participants worked in groups to identify various adaptation

options, specifying the improvements in core, secondary and tertiary systems that the national government, VDCs, DDCs and civil society groups would need to implement to increase adaptive capacity. These are listed in Table 17.

In a conventional development approach, the monitoring and evaluation stage is seen as the point at which interventions are assessed to see if objectives have been effectively met. In a world facing climate change, however, this approach is no longer valid as, with the passage of time, the nature of the problem and inevitably, of the solutions to address it, will change. To address the ever-changing conditions introduced by climate change, we incorporated one additional stage to the project planning process: risk assessment. This stage is necessary to identify new constraints for the risk they pose and to introduce adjustments to the particular project as needed.

PlAnnInG ProCeSS

The process for planning lAPA has three stages—development, implementation and the iterative reassessment of risk—each of which includes a number of activities, as shown in figure 17.

Development: Developing a local adaptation plan begins with assessing the vulnerability of gateway systems and the marginality of individuals, households and communities at the VDC level. Then, a localised climate scenario is projected by synthesising current climatic conditions and past trends at the river basin level, future climate scenarios at the national level and the perceptions of local populations about local-level future scenarios. In the next step, the development of an impact scenario, which details the likely effects of a specified temperature rise on these systems and on marginalised people, is envisioned. This step is akin to preparing a VDC-level development scenario which takes climate change into consideration. This scenario, in turn, serves as the foundation of the next step of identifying options for reducing vulnerabilities or building adaptive capacity. These options will not only support

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figure 17The process of developing a LAPA

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development but also enable communities to respond to the stresses that climate change will likely impose. To decide which of these options should be implemented, they must be prioritised using a qualitative cost-benefit analysis.

Implementation: The second stage focuses on making the plan a reality. It begins with selecting adaptation measures to be implemented and for each: formulating clear objectives; setting well-defined tasks; assessing the need for resources and delegating roles and responsibilities to civil society, government and private organisations. The final step in the process is to monitor and evaluate the success of the measures implemented. evaluating an adaptation option is not a straightforward task and may take a long time because the benefits of some adaptation measures will not be evident until the climate changes significantly. This approach will enhance gateway systems and help improve adaptive capacity by doing so. each plan should be scalable and flexible and reflect the degree of urgency, innovation, complexity and sensitivity associated with the particular adaptation measure it puts in place. They

will comprise a package of prioritised options and will be drafted in such a manner that they assist agencies in implementing, monitoring and evaluating them.

Re-assessing risk: This stage involves revisiting the very first process of assessment, of identifying the vulnerability of systems and the marginality of the people who rely on them, as new constraints emerge. It involves a careful examination of what harm climate change could cause to gateway systems and local populations, and a weighing of whether enough precautions have been taken to prevent that harm or more needs to be done. The following steps are involved in a reassessment of risk:

• Assessing the potential impact of new threats to gateway systems,

• evaluating the likelihood that those threats will, in fact, occur, and

• Creating a consolidated analysis of risk, based on the degree of impact of those threats on critical systems and the likelihood of their occurrence.

risk reassessment involves exercising judgment about new constraints as they emerge and whether the strategy originally selected is still appropriate or needs to be revisited. Making a well-informed decision about the need for and nature of strategy changes, entails identifying the sources of uncertainty about the future and understanding how they affect the decisions made. To this end, it is important to build local-level capacity to deal with the uncertainties inherent in any climate change assessment and the associated decision-making processes. only if stakeholders, both local people and external agents, are willing to grapple with the inevitable dynamism of both climate change and the resultant vulnerability, and to bring together knowledge past and present, global and local, empirical and intuitive, will they be able to develop a local adaptation plan of action that will truly build the resilience of the target group of the marginalised and enable them to adapt to, rather than just cope with, climate change.

Source: Adapted from Willows and Connel (eds. 2003)

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figure 18Risk assessment cycleSource: Adapted from Willows and Connel (eds. 2003)

SuMMAry

The benefits of the pilot exercise are many. It helped to establish a process which, by bringing together local and external actors to act in concert, can boost adaptive capacity. In particular, it demonstrated how to:

• Assessthestatusofgatewaysystemsatthewardlevelusingasetofmeasurableindicators based on the natural hazards-based perspective,

• Usethatinformationtoassessthevulnerabilityofeachwardandthenrankthem,• Carryoutaniterativecross-validationofthepreliminaryresultsusingSLDsand

finalise the ranking of ward-level vulnerability, • Applyasocialperspectiveonvulnerability,identifyingwhichpopulationsin

the most vulnerable wards are the most marginalised and as a result, the most vulnerable to climate change,

• Establishalocalclimatechangescenariobyintegratingpastandcurrenttrends,national-level future scenarios and local perspectives,

• Synthesisetheassessmentofthecurrentstateofsystems’vulnerabilityandmarginality with the localised climate change scenario to create a future impact or climate vulnerability scenario, which, in turn, serves as a development scenario,

• Developindicativescenariosofnewvulnerabilitytoclimatechange,and• Identifyoptionsforautonomousandplannedadaptationinordertobuild

resilience.

This ward-level process can serve as the foundation of similar processes which can be carried out in other units of governance such as a municipality or a district. The method can also be adapted for a watershed or clusters of VDCs, depending on what is being sought. The processes summarised in figure 19 and Table 18 lay out which activities took place in each of the five SlDs held.

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figure 19Framework for the pilot exercise

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Table 18Activities carried out in each of the five shared learning dialoguesStep Activities carried out

Scoping and literature review

Developed a broad view of the challenge

Perused secondary sources to gain a better understanding of the issues and to select District

Proposed an initial clustering of VDCs

first SlD, district-level Selected VDCs

Prepared a checklist for assessing the status of gateway systems at the ward level

Second SlD, district-level Collected data in the 36 wards of the four selected VDCs

edited and compiled the data

Third (round of ) SlDs, VDC-level

Assessed marginality at the ward level

ranked the vulnerability of each ward based on the status of gateway systems

Collected temperature and precipitation data from the nearest stations of the DHM and assessed trends

Synthesised these trends with the future climate scenario projected by nCVST (2009) for the Karnali river basin (in which Kapilbastu District lies)

fourth SlD. district-level � Developed a district-level climate change scenario

� Validated the ward-level ranking of climate vulnerability

� Developed a climate change vulnerability scenario

� Prepared a development scenario to address climate change vulnerability

� Identified marginal groups and households for targeting

� Identified and prioritised options

� With the DDC and each of the four selected VDCs, developed a lAPA for the VDC including

y Setting of objectives (production and capacity)

y Identification of tasks to achieve each objective

y Assessment of financial and other resources

y Identification of boundary partners

y Identification of roles and responsibilities,

y Mapping of outcomes (monitoring and evaluation)

fifth SlD, district-level Shared with the stakeholders the findings of pilots and solicit

Two of those options (drinking water and early warning system) were selected as samples and, just as if project planning and management were actually being undertaken, production and capacity objectives were developed for each. The tasks and resources necessary to meet those objectives were also detailed and monitoring and evaluation plans drafted. The feasibility of each plan was also tested. once a menu of adaptation options is identified, it is possible to use qualitative cost-benefit analysis to prioritise them, though this particular pilot exercise did not do so. Any programme for seeing an adaptation option to fruition, which has been shaped using a climate change

impact lens, is the lAPA. because climate conditions are dynamic and new constraints will no doubt emerge in the future, a stage for reassessing risks is built into the plan itself. This stage focuses on monitoring and evaluation. The process showed that gateway systems serve a number of key functions, including the following:

• Overcomingthelimitationsofuncertainty, particularly in relation to the development of realistic climate scenarios for local areas,

• Generatinglocaladaptationoptionsusing a climate change lens,

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• Assistinghouseholdsandcommunitiesin responding autonomously and in building capacity,

• Linkingplannedandautonomousadaptation through robust gateway systems,

• Connectingactionatthenationalorglobal level to local-level realities where adaptation to climate change will occur,

• Bridgingthegapbetweenlocaldevelopment and local adaptation, and providing a grounded and nuanced method to estimate the additional cost climate change adaptation will bring to development efforts,

• Allowingnationalgovernmentstoconceive, design and implement climate- resilient mechanisms that will consolidate gateway systems so that adaptive capacity as a whole is increased, and

• Improvingunderstandingoftheprinciples involved in climate change adaptation and promoting the formulation of improved policies and practices.

The use of the analysis of gateway systems allows for the assessment of the fragility of the systems at VDC, municipality, VDC cluster or watershed level, the identification of marginalised groups, and an appreciation of how climate change intersects with both systemic fragility and marginality within a specific region to create vulnerabilities. for communities dealing will current climate variability, thinking about likely future scenarios was a challenging task requiring imaginative envisioning. SlD participants also had to exercise their imagination in identifying possible points of fragility in existing systems, considering how they could be made more climate-resilient and proposing options that would enhance their robustness and in consequence, build local adaptive capacity. The underlying assumption, to reiterate, was that in a context of uncertain local climate projections and multiple vulnerability-exacerbating drivers, increasing the vigour

and quality of gateway systems would help people switch strategies and do well. The approach recognised the complexity of the problem, offered plural and flexible solutions and made room for multiple institutions at all levels to be engaged.

The objective of lAPA for addressing the impacts of climate change is to contribute to social and economic wellbeing without compromising the integrity of the systems on which wellbeing depends; on the contrary, that those systems will see an improvement in their robustness and quality. Interventions in the social and environmental sphere, whether planned or autonomous, must also seek both to bring about reforms at the systems level and to involve multiple actors so that they can eradicate marginality and deprivation (bennett, 2005). Achieving these two objectives requires moving from an institutional environment which, in its very structure, enables certain individuals and groups to benefit more from gateway systems than others, to one in which benefits are shared equally. Since such an environment will have at its foundation the rule of law and accountability and transparency of governance, making the transition to an institutional context in which all benefit equally, will require consideration of such political processes and governance systems.

overall, the piloted process has resulted in a proposed local-level adaptation plan of action characterised by the following traits:

• Simplicity: enables communities to understand uncertain climate conditions and to engage in the process of identifying adaptation needs.

• Flexibility: facilitates a response to constraints as and when they emerge.

• Catalytic: Informs sectoral programmes and fosters coordination among them as well as establishes synergy between national, top-down and local, bottom-up assessments of climatic risks.

• Rootedness: Starts at the community level and engages multiple stakeholders.

• Practicality: Can be mainstreamed into existing village development planning processes, which, in turn, can inform district-level plans.

• Meso-level focus: Strengthens meso-level institutions, thereby promoting consolidated and coordinated adaptation responses.

The process of adapting to climate change involves dealing with terms such as risks, hazards, exposure, capacity, vulnerability and adaptation.1 These terms have varying nuances within different disciplinary communities. While hazard, exposure, capacity and adaptation can be treated in comparative straightforward way the terms risk and vulnerability present analytical challenges. In our study we have suggested that perceptions of risk also vary depending upon one’s worldview. In the adaptation strategy proposed, therefore, attempts have been made to create space for different worldviews to be engaged in the process. from scientific perspective risk is encapsulated as probability of events in a geographical area where population in

all its diversity live. flexibility should remain foundation of such a strategy because individual motivations, their values and meanings guide how life is conducted and shape social behaviour (rayner and Malone, 1998).

Thus vulnerability of both the area and people living within that area are important in formulating strategies for adaptation. The relationship between risk and vulnerability is captured well in the following quote by national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (noAA).xi According noAA, “The difference between risk and vulnerability is an important distinction. risk areas identify geographically (typically on maps) those areas most likely to be affected by a given hazard. People and resources located within the risk areas are considered to be at risk from hazards [exposed] and may or may not be vulnerable to hazard impacts. The vulnerability of the people and resources within the risk areas is a function of their individual susceptibility to the hazard impacts.” The gateway system approach used in this exercise captures noAA’s formulation of risk and vulnerability: vulnerability of geographical area and people living that area are considered in formulating lAPA.

xii See National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Coastal Services Centre; Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Tool (RVAT) http://www.csc.noaa.gov/rvat/hazardEdd.html

xii This section is adapted from an unpublished report on disaster and participation written by Ajaya Dixit and Dipak Gyawali in the late 1990s.

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The process outlined above is a simple framework that can be used to formulate plans for local-level adaptation to climate change at a local scale. It is a strategy that considers human systems and the choices that we make and the strategies we adopt to respond to social and environmental changes that we either observe in the present or project that it will occur in the future. Within the social and political boundaries which confine us, we move toward the opportunities we perceive and retreat from or seek to overcome the constraints we face. How we conceive the changes shape our behaviour —whether we see them as constraints or opportunities—depends on our perceptions, social relations, network of institutional relationships, political factors, history—in short, the whole array of variable that frame our worldviews. local-level adaptation to climate change is no different from any other of our responses: our responses to climate change impacts do not occur in a social and political vacuum; on the contrary, they are shaped and conditioned by our reality. That reality includes the historical context of local-level planning efforts in nepal, an appreciation of which provides useful lessons for designing and implementing local strategies for adapting to climate change impacts.

In the mid-1970s, under the rubric of planned state-led development, the framework of local planning and popular participation emerged as the driving development philosophy for providing basic services such as drinking water, education and irrigation. The origin of this interest in the participatory and decentralised approach stemmed in part from the failure of the previous two decades of development efforts to yield satisfactory results. foreign aid, it had become clear, did not bring about expected changes in recipient societies. As a major recipient of Western financial and technical aid, nepal, with its complex social, economic and physical milieus and it’s still unexamined autonomous resource management practices, provided a potent test bed for both empirical studies in and theorisation about the participatory approach, especially as it applied to rural development.

between 1976 and 1986, the government of nepal implemented several integrated rural development projects with the objective of speeding up the pace of development by overcoming the obstacles that the implementation of uncoordinated and disintegrated programmes by different government agencies had faced. These projects were designed to solve the interrelated problems confronting the rural populace and focused on specific target groups, including small farmers, landless or near-landless agricultural workers and the urban poor. The planning procedure during this period, whose political regime was that of the party-less panchayati polity, was not, however, based on a critical feature of participation; it

A CoMMenT on DeCenTrAlISATIon In nePAl xII

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did not encourage bottom-up involvement but instead imposed top-down blueprints.

In this approach, by and large, participation was considered equivalent to the contribution of labour. In many cases, such contributions were voluntary, but, in some cases, people were coerced into implementing projects without being accorded any decision-making roles. The outcome was a gradual distortion of the true nature of development—the opening up of opportunities and the increasing of self reliance—until it became a reason for inaction and dependence. Instead of seeing development as a continual process one strives for oneself, donors, the state and recipients all began to see development as a one-time gift from outside. on the odd occasion that dialogue was opened with stakeholders, the outcomes were positive. As a result, despite the failure of development at the macro, national scale, at the meso and micro levels nepal can boast of numerous successes. Community-managed forestry, drinking water, rural electrification, irrigation, trail bridges and other people-centred programmes offer a promising alternative to the prevailing state-led or market-based approaches. They are based on policies supportive of genuine participation rather than being top down and project-centric.

The decentralisation of decision-making and by implication, the process of allowing local issues to be addressed by local people that was initiated with the introduction of the party-less panchayat system in the early 1960s was political in nature. Though the concept underwent 30 years of multiple revisions within the same participatory framework for development, its basic tenets did not change: participation was always seen as the means by which to maintain the hegemony of the party-less political system.

As long as a multiparty political system ceased to exist, participation remained bureaucratic and hierarchic. by the end of 1980s, the non-party polity was untenable: it was making no progress either politically or in development. It did not create space for political actions or meet the basic needs of the population. Those integrated rural development projects initiated soon after the fall of the rana autocracy and the rise of popular democracy in 1951 were showing signs of fatigue and inertia and many fizzled out (Pradhan, 1985). Then, following a protest movement which swept the nation in 1990, the party-less panchayat polity was dismantled and a multi-party democratic system introduced. Its advent came hot on the heels of the end of the era of integrated rural development programmes.

The Constitution of 1991 recognised the decentralisation of authority as a means to provide opportunities to the people to govern themselves and as a result, to enjoy the benefits of democracy and development, but it made no constitutional provision for autonomous local governments. It took the promulgation of the local Self-Governance Act in late 1999 to give local bodies to make decisions about the course of their development. However, because the Maoist insurgency had peaked at that time, local bodies, which had been elected on two separate occasions and served their full tenure the first time, were dissolved in 2002. In 2008 nepal abolished the constitutional monarchy provided for in the Constitution of 1991 and adopted a federal democratic political order. As of March 2011, however, local bodies have not been re-elected. Whatever federal structure is adopted will naturally have dramatic implications for decentralisation and local-level adaptation planning, but the details of the federal units have not yet been decided.

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It is the intent of the local planning approach that uses climate change to assess vulnerability and adaptation measures described above that local institution be in-charge, yet the challenges confronting those institutions will be hard to overcome immediately. The approach described above can link the development adaptation continuum, operate in an environment of uncertainty, open space for both and planned adaptation measures while opening opportunities for the government, private sector and the civil society groups to be involved in the process of adaptation. In doing so the approach brings together climate science, the physical systems, the notion of marginality in society to assess who is more vulnerable to climate change impacts. At the same time, it also recognises roles of human agency in adaptation. Some of the factors which will constrain the attempt of local institutions to make local adaptation plans of action include their limited problem-solving and management capacity, the development deficit, the prevalence of self-serving motives of those in public services, poor accountability and the absence of systemic checks and balances. These weaknesses are deeply ingrained. To move forward will require overcoming many barriers and ensuring that:

• top-downgovernmentalplanningandoperationsbalancegenuineparticipatory approaches,

• thedemocraticallyelectedgovernmentinstitutionalisesprocesseswhereincitizens can actively participate in decision-making processes and make informed choices,

• therearemechanismsatalllevelsofgovernancewhereincompetingandconflicting interests are negotiated in a transparent manner, and

• arrangementthatenablepublicfundstobegovernedinamannerthatprevents misappropriation and ensures proper targeting exists.

At the end, what remains is to implement the piloted approach at a large scale and to tease out from that expanded experience, new learning to be put to use to improve practices, formulate effective policies and develop principles that will assist us in responding to the challenges of adapting to anthropogenic climate change. As climate change and the attendant vulnerability are both dynamic states, the hallmark of the approach should be that it should be always open to modifications.

lAST WorDS

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enDnoTeS1. The informal sector, in contrast with the formal economy, is economic activity that is neither taxed nor

monitored by a government and is not included in that government’s gross national product. examples include barter and gift economies. Informal economies are often associated with developing countries, where up to 60% of the labour force works and as much 40% of the gross national product is generated, but all economic systems contain an informal economy in some proportion.

2. A fully developed banking system can be a gateway to everything from savings and credit to insurance, knowledge of a global language such as english is a gateway to global knowledge, a multi-function communications system is a gateway to a diversity of resources and networks and a resilient transport system is a gateway to global goods. The vast opportunities offered by gateway systems contrast with the limited access to resources and networks that limited systems, such as those based on local languages or single-purpose communications facilities, provide. See ISeT (2008) for details.

3. for further details see ISeT (2008).

4. nepal’s Drinking Water Quality Standards for arsenic is 0.05mg/lit. See CbS (2008) environmental State of nepal.

5. This insight emerged from the SlD in which information exchange is two way. When researchers presented the need to develop criteria to rank VDCs, the representatives of DDC mentioned that it already had developed one. The locally developed criteria were relevant, had sense of local ownership and were used.

6. The third assessment report of the IPCC identified these elements key to adaptation.

7. nCVST (2009) used data sets from 1970 to 1990 as well as 15 global climate models to prepare climate projections for nepal using the A2, A1b, and b1 assumptions made by Special report on emission Scenario (SreS)s.

8. number outside the parenthesis is multimodal mean while first number inside is minimum and second is maximum projected temperature in ° C

9. number outside the parenthesis is multimodal mean while first number inside bracket is minimum and second is maximum percentage change in precipitation

10. According to ISeT (2008) the definitions of the terms are as follows.

• risk: The combination of the probability of an event and its negative consequences.

• Hazard: A dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

• exposure: People, property, systems or other elements present in hazard zones that are thereby subject to potential losses.

• Vulnerability: The characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. This definition assumes vulnerability as a characteristic of the element of interest (community, system or asset) which is independent of its exposure.

• Adaptation: The adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. This definition taken from the secretariat of the united nations framework Convention on Climate Change (unfCCC) aims to address the concerns of climate change.

• Capacity: The combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within a community, society or organization that can be used to achieve agreed goals.

11. See national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (noAA); Coastal Services Centre; risk and Vulnerability Assessment Tool (rVAT) http://www.csc.noaa.gov/rvat/hazardedd.html

12. This section is adapted from an unpublished report on disaster and participation written by Ajaya Dixit and Dipak Gyawali in the late 1990s.

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Adger, W. n., 2006: Vulnerability, Global Environmental Change, Vol. 16, pp. 268-281.

Ahmed, S. and Mustafa, D., 2007: understanding Vulnerability, building Capacity: Concept, Approaches and Insights, In Working with the Winds of Change: Towards Strategies for Responding to the Risks Associated with Climate Change and other Hazards, Moench, M; Dixit, A (eds.), Institute for Social and environmental Transition, boulder and Kathmandu and ProVention.

CbS, 2005: Poverty Trends in Nepal (1995-96 and 2003-04), September, His Majesty’s Government of nepal, national Planning Commission Secretariat, Central bureau of Statistics, Kathmandu.

CbS, 2004: Nepal Sample Census of Agriculture Nepal 2001/02, District Nawalparasi, Central bureau of Statistics, HMG’s, national Planning and Commission Secretariat, Kathmandu.

Chambers, r., 1994: Irrigation against rural Poverty, Socio-Economic Dimensions and Irrigation, Gurjar, r. K. (ed.), pp. 50-83, Printwell, Jaipur.

Cutter, S., 1996: Vulnerability to environmental Hazards, Progress in Human Geography, Vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 529-539.

Cutter, S., Mitchell, J. K. and Scott, M. S., 2000: Revealing the Vulnerability to People and Places: A Case Study of Georgetown County, South Carolina, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 90, no. 4, pp. 713-737.

Dixit, A., 2010: Climate Change Challenges in Nepal Policy for Adaptation Decision-Making a Adaptive Policy, ISeT-n and ICIMoD, Kathmandu.

Hobley, M and Paudayal b 2008: Study of Income-Generating activities in Kapilbastu and ramechhap districts. SDC, Kathmandu

Holling, C. S., Gunderson, l. H. (eds.), 2002: Sustainability and Panarchies, In Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems, pp. 63-102, Island Press, Washington DC.

IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, In Solomon, S., Qin, D., Manning, M., Chen, Z., Marquis, M., Averyt, K. b., Tingnor, M. and Miller, H. l. (eds.), pp. 996, Cambridge university Press, Cambridge, united Kingdom and new york, ny, uSA.

ISeT, 2008: From Research to Capacity, Policy and Action: Enabling Adaptation on Climate Change for Poor Populations in Asia Through Research, Capacity Building and Innovation, report from the Adaptation Study Team to IDrC Coordinated by ISeT, July, ISeT and ISeT-nepal.

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ISeT/ISeT-n, 2009: Shifting the Response Terrain, opitz-Stapleton, S., Seraydarian, l, Moench, M. and Dixit, A. (eds.), Institute for Social and environmental Transition (ISeT) and Institute for Social and environmental Transition-nepal (ISeT-n), boulder and Kathmandu.

Jha C. and Prasai S, Hobley M. and bennett l. 2009: Citizen Mobilisation in nepal building on nepal’s Tradition of Social Mobilisation to make local Governance more Inclusive and Accountable, Supported by World bank, Department for International Development (DfID) and Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC)

Kansakar, S. r., et al., 2004: Spatial Patterns in the Precipitation regime of nepal, International Journal of Climatology, Vol. 24, pp. 1645-1659.

lewin, K., 1946: Action research and Minority Problems, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 34-46.

Mark Stafford Smith, lisa Horrocks, Alex Harvey, and Clive Hamilton 2011; rethinking adaptation for a 4°C world Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. January 13, 2011 369:196-216;doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0277.

Moench M and Dixit A (2004) Adapative strategies and livelihood resilience ISeT-n and ISeT.

nCVST, 2009: Vulnerability Through the Eyes of Vulnerable: Climate Change Induced Uncertainties and Nepal’s Development Predicaments, Institute for Social and environmental Transition-nepal (ISeT-n, Kathmandu) and Institute for Social and environmental Transition (ISeT, boulder, Colorado) for nepal Climate Vulnerability Study Team (nCVST) Kathmandu.

pradhan, b. b., 1985: Integrated rural Development Projects in nepal, a review, icimod occasional, icimod occasional paper no. 2, december, international centre for integrated mountain development, Kathmandu.

rayner, S. and Malone, e. l., 1998: The Challenge of Climate Change to the Social Sciences, in Human Choice and Climate Change, rayner, S. and Malone, e. l. (eds.), Vol. 4 , battelle Press, Pacific northwest national laboratory, Columbus, ohio.

sharma s. (2001) Procuring Water nepal water conservation foundation, nepal

Shrestha, A. b., Wake, C, P., Mayewski, P. A., and Dibb, J. e., 1999: Maximum Temperature Trends in the Himalaya and its Vicinity: An Analysis based on Temperature records from nepal for the Period 1971–94, Journal of Climate, Vol. 12, pp. 2775-2786, September.

bennette et al, 2008: Unequal Citizens: Gender, Caste and Ethnic Exclusion in Nepal, executive summary, the world bank (wb) and department for international development (dfid), Kathmandu.

willows, r. i. and connell, r. K. (eds.) 2003: climate adaptation: risk, uncertainty and decision-making, uKcip technical report, uKcip, oxford.

Wisner, b., blaikie, P., Cannon, T. and Davis, I. (eds.), 2004: At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disaster, routledge, london and new york.

yamin, f., rahman, A. and Huq, S., 2005: Vulnerability, Adaptation and Climate Disasters, A Conceptual overview, IDS Bulletin, Vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 1-14.

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An Assessment of InstItutIons And experIence to provIde A foundAtIon for clImAte AdAptAtIon desIgnIng And pIlotIng


Submitted byJiba Raj PokharelDisaster Risk Management and Urban Settlements

An Assessment of Institutions and experience to provide a foundation for climate Adaptation designing and piloting

Acknowledgement

413

I would like to thank cAdP nepal for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this assessment of institutions and experience to provide foundation knowledge for climate adaptation designing and piloting. thanks are to mr. deepak Rijal, the Project manager cAdP-n for extending all kinds of support for the accomplishment of the task.

I would also like to thank ms. nanki kaur for being very helpful towards the completion of this task. I would like to extend my thanks to care nepal, Action Aid nepal, Practical Action nepal, mercy corps, danish Red cross and several other organizations whose work has been cited in this report. I also thank several other ngos who have been working in the area of climate change as mentioned in the Report.

I would also like to thank gargee Pradhan who has helped right from the inception of this Project.

414


415

executIve SummARy

the entire globe has been shaken by the adverse effects of climate change. nepal obviously could not remain an exception to it. It is, in fact, considered as the sixth most vulnerable country to climate change. the annual increase in temperature by 0.06 degree centigrade in the country in general, and such increasing tendency observed in the Himalayan region in particular with its delicate glacial lakes, reflects its vulnerability. It is unfortunate that nepal has to face such circumstances when it has generated a negligible percent of green house gases.

nepal has been found to be generally vulnerable to climate change in six sectors and they are Agriculture and Food Security, Forests and Biodiversity, water Resources and energy, climate Induced disasters, Public Health, and urban Settlements and Infrastructure. there is thus a dire need in nepal to adapt to this reality, and for this there have to be viable institutions ready to face the challenges successfully. Projects need to be identified and executed to mitigate as well as adapt to the vagaries of the climate change in an effort to be resilient to it. this report seeks to make an assessment of the agencies working specifically with climate induced disasters and also in urban settlements. the first objective was to assess if existing programs/projects/interventions of the institutions enhance the adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable communities and natural systems. In the case of the climate induced disasters, it has been found that the adaptive capacity has been enhanced due to an increase in awareness among community members, the installation of early warning systems, conduction of mock exercises, construction of shelter houses, and the availability of rescue equipment. there are as yet no institutions working exclusively on urban settlements towards the mitigation of the effect of climate change and thus this aspect remains unanswered to a great extent at the present.

the second objective was to understand the planning framework, service delivery mechanism, and monitoring and evaluation framework used by the organizations, including frameworks used to mainstream climate change into the organizations’ planning process. In the case of the climate induced disasters project, the planning framework was in the form of a project report which outlined in detail the activities and the time in which these would be accomplished. the service delivery was made through an I/ngo collaboration whereby the ngo is selected beforehand and then mobilises its employees at different levels in the field. the monitoring and evaluation framework consisted of the project’s internal evaluation followed by evaluation by an independent national consultant, and culminating in an evaluation by an international consultant. the mainstreaming of climate change in the organization’s planning process however seemed to be conspicuous by its absence. the urban settlements remain unattended on this front, partly due to the absence of institutions working in this area but more due to lack of awareness of the national and local impacts of climate change.

416


the third objective was to identify ways that organizations scale up their programmes to enhance adaptive capacity. there have been replications of the programs in neighbouring communities following successful implementation, but not really the scaling-up on a wide scale. Scaling up is not underway at present as the disaster risk management has not been mainstreamed in the periodic plans of some of the districts which have prepared one. It is far from being mainstreamed in the case of some districts which have not yet prepared their Periodic Plan, despite having a sample plan in place. the case is similar for the municipalities; some of them having prepared the plans following the sample plan, whilst some have yet to prepare it. Recently, disaster risk management issues have been mainstreamed but have yet to be implemented, and this does not look likely to take place soon due to the absence of the people’s representatives in local government. the mainstreaming of disaster risk management remains to be done at vdc level as the Periodic Plan has not yet been prepared for them.

climate change has not been mainstreamed in any of these plans and hence the activities related to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change effects have not been making the desired progress. Hence, it is recommended that Periodic Plans are prepared for vdcs, duly mainstreaming climate change and that vdcs are supported through an ngo specializing in climate change. the present I/ngo nexus as practiced in the dePIcHo Projects has been recommended for providing continuity, in view of its successful implementation of interventions despite the absence of locally elected representatives. An alternative could be the mobilization of a donor unit in the area of intervention which could liaise with the district disaster Relief committee and the district technical office of the ddc. Although these alternates have potential, their success cannot be certain, as the dIPecHo, Ingo, ngo axis still needs to be tried in the actual adverse circumstances marked by political uncertainty and the lack of people’s representatives in local government.

417

tABle oF contentS




background 4191.0. Introduction 4191.1. climate, induced Risks and vulnerability in nepal 419 1.1.1. Risk due to Flood and drought 4201.2. the objectives 4201.3. methodology 4211.4. organization of the Report 421

disaster Risk management 4222.0 Introduction 4222.1. disasters in nepal 4232.2. disaster Risk management Finance in nepal 4232.3. Selection of dIPecHo Projects 4242.4. objectives 4252.5. vision 4252.6. mission 4262.7. Inventory of Programs 4262.8. Service delivery mechanism 4272.9. Financial delivery mechanism 4272.10. effectiveness 427 2.11. cost Benefit Analysis (cBA) of mercy corps Project 4282.12. monitoring and evaluation mechanism 4292.13. good Practices 429

2.13.1. good Practices of cARe nepal 4292.13.2. the good Practices of Action Aid nepal 4292.13.3. good Practices by Practical Action nepal 430

2.14. Assessment of the Programs 431

Climate Change and urban Settlements 4323.0. Introduction 4323.1. urban Scenario of nepal 4323.2. manifestation of climate change 4333.3. Agencies working on climate change 434

418


3.3.1. RImS, nepal 4343.3.2. macchapuchre development organization (mdo) 4343.3.3. ecocenteR 4353.3.4. environment Study group (eSg) 4353.3.5. nepal Institute for development Studies (nIdS) 4353.3.6. clean energy nepal (cen) 4353.3.7. FoRwARd 4363.3.8. environment camps for conservation Awareness (eccA) 4363.3.9. Forest Action 436

3.4. good Practices 436

Creating/enhancing adaptive capacity 4374.0. Introduction 4374.1. need of mainstreaming 437 4.1.1. mainstreaming in the nPc guidelines 438 4.1.2. mainstreaming in guidelines 438 4.1.3. mainstreaming in guidelines 4394.2. need of Preparation of the Periodic Plan for vdc 4394.3. need of mainstreaming climate change 4394.4. up-scaling of good Practices 4404.5. working modalities and approaches 440 4.5.1. Alternative working modality 441

ReFeReNCeS 442

419

BAckgRound

1.0. Introduction

nepal is regarded as the sixth most vulnerable country with respect to climate change despite a negligible carbon emission. As a consequence, it has begun to experience several effects such as unusual floods or droughts throughout the country. Although the climate change science was disputed until recently, it has been recognized as a reality by the recent report of IPcc. there is thus a dire need for nepal to find ways to adapt to climate change. the country is seeking to do this with the formulation and implementation of the national Adaptation Plan of Action. the plan has recognized the six key thematic areas of water and energy, forest and biodiversity, agriculture and food security, urban settlement disasters risk management and health. under nAPA there is a program of preparing local Adaptation Plans of Action. Programs and activities under these plans need to be implemented by local government agencies such as vdcs in collaboration with non government Agencies and donors.

there are several different agencies working in disaster and climate change risk management in the country. there is a need to have an overview of which specialist organizations or agencies are working in the aforementioned areas. this report seeks to make an assessment of agencies that are active and working in disaster risk management and in urban settlements that are sensitive to climate change.

1.1. Climate, induced Risks and Vulnerability in Nepal

climate is regarded as a functional totality of temperature, rainfall and humidity. As regards temperature, a study based on the collection of data from 45 weather stations across the country between 1996 and 2005 has revealed a 0.04 degree centigrade rise, with variation along the three ecological belts of the country. whilst it is more prominent in the Himalayan belt it is subdued as one moves from the hills to the terai areas of the country. temperature projections for the future indicate an increase by an average of 1.20c by 2030, 1.70c by 2050 and 30c by 2100 compared to a pre-2000 baseline. Another scenario is the likely increase by 1.40c by 2030, 2.80c by 2060 and 4.70c by 2090. winters are likely to be warmer and the summers less hot. Regionally speaking, western and central nepal are likely to be hotter compared to eastern nepal for the years 2030, 2060 and 2090.

If there is more or less clarity with regard to temperature, it is not so regarding precipitation. due to large variation in the inter-annual rainfall in general and that of the monsoon precipitation in particular, the observed trends are marked by uncertainty. the

420


observation of annual participation in the 166 weather stations of the country indicates a positive trend in annual rainfall in eastern, central, western and Far-western nepal. It is followed by a general decline in pre-monsoon precipitation in far-and mid-western nepal. Simultaneously, there exist a few pockets of declining rainfall in western, central and eastern regions. In the country in general an overall trend of increasing pre-monsoon rainfall can be observed. As regards the post-monsoon precipitation, the mid western and the southern parts of the eastern and central/western nepal have displayed an increasing pattern. In most of the far western, northern part of the western, central and eastern nepal, a declining rainfall trend has been encountered. Apart from the northern part of mid-western, western and eastern nepal, an overall increasing trend of winter precipitation can be seen.

though the future precipitation in the winter appears to remain unchanged in the western nepal, eastern nepal appears to experience an increase in the range of 5-10 per cent. However in the summer, precipitation is likely to increase throughout the country and it is going to be more in eastern and central nepal compared to western nepal. Projections also indicate an increase in the monsoon and post monsoon rainfall followed by a decrease in winter rainfall leading to drought in winter as well as floods in summer.

the observations and projections indicate that key impacts of climate change are likely to include: significant warming, particularly at higher elevations, leading to reductions in snow and ice coverage; increased climatic variability and frequency of extreme events, including floods and droughts; and, overall increase in

precipitation during the wet season but a decrease in the mid hills. climate change thus leads to two main disastrous events, floods and drought.

1.1.1 Risk due to Floods and DroughtFlood is one of the major disasters in nepal. the data of the past 36 years reveals that it is a number three killer after epidemics and landslide in the country. It is however a number one disaster when seen in terms of the number of affected people ( 68.4%) with landslides ( 9.8 %), epidemics (9.4%) and fire (4.6%) occupying second, third and fourth positions. In the last 36 years (1971-2007), flood seems to have taken 2936 lives and affected 3.36 million people in the country. the loss due to 1993 flood is as follows.

though drought has been reported 152 times compared to 2720 times by flood, it is comparatively a mild customer but affects enormously in an agrarian country like nepal. For example, in the last 36 years (1971-2007), it appears to have resulted in the loss of 329,332 hectares of land.

table 1.1.1 :Loss in 1993 Flooddead

missing

Injured

families affected

Houses destroyed

Houses damaged

public buildings lost

land loss

livestock loss

roads destroyed

number of bridges destroyed

dam destroyed

number of Irrigation channels destroyed

Estimated total cost

1,336

201

110

85,451

18,322

20,721

452

57,013 ha

25,628

366 km

213

34

620

nRs 4,901 million

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1.2. The Objectives

the overall objective is to make a study of the agencies working in disaster Risk management and urban Settlements with respect to climate change. the specific objectives are:

1. to assess if existing programmes/projects/interventions enhance adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable communities/natural systems;

2. to understand the planning framework, service delivery mechanism & monitoring and evaluation framework used by the organisation for planning and delivering programmes that enhance adaptive capacity (including frameworks used to mainstream climate change into the organisations planning process);

3. to identify ways that will enable organisations to scale up programmes that create/enhance adaptive capacity.

1.3. Methodology

this assessment has been made following the secondary data. these were obtained from web sites of the respective agencies, reports prepared by the agencies regarding their activities and the participation in the seminars. the workshop organized by cAdP n( 18-21 August, 2010) and the following site visit was very useful for interaction with several agency representatives. A presentation was also made in that workshop to receive comments from the participants.

1.4. Organization of the Report

this report aimed at the assessment of the institutions working on the climate change induced disaster risk management and mitigation of impacts of climate change in urban areas. However, in nepal, in the arena of disaster risk management, agencies have been working on all kinds of disasters, climate induced or otherwise such as floods and earthquakes. Hence the study of these agencies which are generalist more than specialist on climate change disasters have been studied due to the latter’s paucity. Similarly, there are no institutions working on the impact of climate change in urban areas as such and hence those institutions which have recently assembled to work on climate change in general have been studied.

this report consists of four sections in toto. the first section introduces the assessment study highlighting the objectives and the methodology used. the second section focuses on the disaster risk management scenario of nepal followed by the information about the institutions working on the disaster risk management sector including their service delivery mechanism and monitoring as well as evaluation formwork. the third section concentrates on the urban settlements and the climate change scenario of nepal leading to the description of the agencies working on climate change in nepal.

dISASteR RISk mAnAgement

2.0 Introduction

nepal has been a victim to disasters since time immemorial. the frequent interaction with disasters has formed a part of the culture of nepal. consequently, rituals like Rudri are carried out on an annual basis for attaining peace and tranquillity, and considerable mention is made of disasters such as flood, earthquake, bird flu, fire etc in such texts. In the past, disasters were considered as divine acts as well as punitive measures taken against erring individuals. So, the first Act passed by the nepali Parliament to govern disaster risk management, the nepal calamity Relief Act, 1982 of nepal is translated as divine disaster Relief Act as (daibiya Prakop udhhar Ain) in nepali. there was thus no concept of disaster preparedness in nepal as it would be futile to prepare against a divine act. Accordingly, this Act also addresses only post disaster phenomenon.

there is, however, a growing awareness that disasters are human created and not divine. So, the need to prepare against disaster events has been felt very strongly. In this context, many International and non government Agencies have been working recently in nepal. this Section assesses the institutions working on disaster risk management in nepal with respect to their objectives, vision, mission, geographical coverage, best practices, service and finance delivery mechanism, effectiveness, cost benefit analysis and their monitoring and evaluation mechanism.

diagram 2.1 Number of deaths in annual basis in Nepal due to disasters)

19711974

19771980

19831986

19891992

19951998

20012004

2007

2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

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2.1. Disasters in Nepal

nepal is regarded as a hot spot of disasters. It is evident by its people being exposed to an average of two disasters every year. Floods, landslides, fire, heat waves, cold waves, hail storms and thunder storms are disasters that occur annually. Besides, nepal faces large earthquakes every seventy five to hundred years. It also suffers from moderate earthquakes every fifty years. the last large earthquakes were in the years 1833 and 1934, when astronomical loss occurred in the country. In 1988, there was an earthquake hitting the eastern part of nepal which led to the demise of 721 people. Seismologists have been predicting a large earthquake of the intensity of the year 1934 at any time in the future. epidemics of disease are the largest life killers in nepal. It is thus necessary for adequate measures to be undertaken in advance to avoid unbearable losses. In recent years, nepal has also been among the most of the vulnerable countries to climate change. nepal occupies sixth position in the list of the countries affected by climate change, eleventh with respect to earthquakes and 30th with regards to water induced disasters such as flood and landslides.

A glance through the past reveals that the disaster risk in nepal is generally severe where existing disaster management systems do not include a preventive component. For example, the breach in the embankment of the koshi River created colossal damage because works, such as the annual maintenance of the embankment, had not been carried out regularly over recent years. disaster prevention programmes and activities towards the integration of dRR into development in nepal are very few and far between. this is also because there is insufficient awareness of and commitment to disaster risk and vulnerability reduction.

2.2. Disaster Risk Management Finance in Nepal

the disaster Risk management activities in nepal are carried out by two main actors - the government and non government actors. the government operates through a three-level mechanism consisting of the central, Regional, district and local disaster Relief committee.

whilst the ministry of Home Affairs is the umbrella Agency responsible for disaster

diagram 2.2 Administrative mechanism for dRR in Nepal

central natural disaster relief committee

supply, shelter andrehabilitation sub committee

relief andtreatment sub committee

regional natural disaster relief committee

district natural disaster relief committee

local natural disaster relief committee

Budget allocation in nepal for disaster management activities

S.n. Source of Funding

Budgetary allocations

(in millions nRs)

2007-08 2008-09

1. ministry of Finance

central disaster Relief Fund 50 100

nepal disaster Relief

and Reconstruction

- 2000

moAc 7 10

dwIdP 50 50

doR 25 30

Roads Fund Board 15-20 15-20

dodwS 30 30

total 177-182 2235-2240

2. local government

vdcs At own discretion At own discretion

districts 0.1 0.1

municipalities - At own discretion

table 2.2 :budget for dRR in Nepal

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424


tABle 2.2A: investment by diPeCHo for dRR in Nepal

risk management activities in nepal, the International and national non government organizations help the government in the process. most of these agencies are members of disaster Prevention network nepal.

the government does not spend as much as desired on preparedness activities, as is evident from the spending of 177-182 million Rupees in the year 2007-2008. the figure of 2008-09 is special as it is related to the breach in embankment of the koshi and cannot be taken as normal. though the exact amount required for carrying out the preparedness activities has not been computed so far, there is a widespread realization that the annual allocation is far from adequate. the International non government Agencies spend quite a significant amount but again there is no consolidated information

year other diPeCHo

2006 2.8 (drought)

2007 2.0 (flood) 2.4

2008 2.4 (flood)

2009 0.9 (contingency) 3.0

total 8.1 5.4

Sn Name of the Project Area Geographical area iNGo NGo

1 Samadhan II doti, kailali Far west care nepal cSSd

2 Safe community Project makwanpur, Sarlahi, Rupandehi, Banke, Sunsari and udayapur

western, central and eastern nepal

Action Aid PReRAnA, wcdF, (FScn) Bee group uPcA nepal nP nepal co-Action nepal

3 kailali disaster Risk Reduction opportunity

kailali Far west mercy corps nepal Red cross

4 Bnakey Bardia Flood warning Program

chitwan, nawalparashi, Bnakey and Bardiya

central and west Practical Action cSdR, RkJS

5 Safer communities through multi Hazard Risk Reduction

okhaldhunga, Solukhumbu, morang, Sunsari, lamjung, myagdi,mugu,

eastern and Far western nepal

danish Red cross nepal Red cross

6 Increased Resilience to natural disasters…

Humla and mugu Far west mission east kIRdARc

nASSo

7 disaster Preparedness Program Saptari eastern oxfam gB

regarding it. Information regarding individual spending by the agencies is available, however. For example, dePIcHo spent 9.6 million euro from 2006 to 2009.

2.3. Selection of DIPECHO Projects

As is clear from the above, dIPecHo spends a considerable amount on disaster Risk Reduction. the agencies executing projects under it have been selected for this assessment because of the collaborative working modality of the ngos and Ingos in dIPecHo projects. moreover, their activities are spread over a large area of nepal and not confined to one region or place. Some of the agencies implementing the dIPecHo Projects are described below.

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2.4. Objectives

the objectives of cARe nepal is to contribute to the achievement of Hyogo Framework of Action in nepal by building resilience among communities, especially the poor, marginalized and socially excluded to withstand natural hazards with fewer losses of lives and assets.

Similarly the objective of Action Aid nepal is to build resilience of the community to disaster in the targeted districts through capacity building, enhancing awareness, advocacy, and small scale mitigation. Its specific objective towards disaster is to strengthen capacities of communities and local institutions to reduce the impacts of disasters and ensure the rights of disaster vulnerable people.

likewise the objectives of mercy corps (mc) is to reduce disaster risks in nepal through increased awareness and improved capacity of vulnerable communities to prepare for and respond to frequent natural disasters. the specific objective of mc is to ensure that vulnerable communities and institutions in kailali district are better prepared to respond to natural disasters, are linked into district and national response systems, and contribute to shared learning on risk reduction practices

the specific objective of Practical Action towards disaster for the strategic period 2007-12 is to ensure that almost 97,000 poor people living in plains and hills from seven districts of nepal are better able to cope with risks due to floods, landslides, drought and impacts of climate change through improved access to technologies and decision-making processes on disaster risk management.

In a similar manner, the objective of mission east is to enable local communities and institutions of Humla district to prepare for, mitigate and respond to natural disasters.

Subsequent operations will consolidate and strengthen the projects and mitigate adverse impact of natural disasters by adding dRR project components, as well as increasing capacity of local authorities to be better prepared in the event of a disaster.

2.5. Vision

the vision of cARe nepal is to seek a peaceful and harmonious society in which poor, vulnerable and socially excluded people live in dignity, and their rights are fulfilled and will be a partner of choice and are recognized for commitment to social justice from the high Himalayas to the plains of the terai.

Action Aid envisions poverty as the social, political and economic conditions in which women, men, girls and boys have no security of their basic livelihood and dignity due to the lack of access to and control over basic productive resources affecting their lives and livelihood.

one of the local counterparts of Action Aid, Bheri environmental excellence group (Bee) envisages facilitating the empowerment process of poor, women and children at the grassroots by organizing training programs and conducting community-based initiatives in suitable areas. moreover it intends to work as a facilitator for the acquisition of social security through creating safety nets for a healthy and safe environment for poor communities. Bee group is also AAn’s long-term development partner and as well as partner for disaster Risk Reduction through Schools project.

Practical Action has the vision of a sustainable world, free of poverty and injustice in which technology is used to the benefit of all.

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2.6. Mission

the mission of cARe nepal is to facilitate the empowerment of poor, vulnerable and socially excluded people to fulfil their basic needs and achieve social justice. It seeks to attend this through:(a) Addressing social, cultural and political

discrimination(b) facilitating micro/macro linkages for

policy influence (c) Building local, regional and global

alliances and partnerships(d) sustainable economic development (e) conflict sensitive programming (f ) disaster risk reduction and emergency

response

the Action Aid nepal has a mission to eradicate poverty through the process of empowerment of the poorest and most marginalized women, men, girls and boys. the values of AAn include empathy with the poor and marginalized, mutual respect and equity, non sectarian, quality and excellence. disability is an area of AAn engagements with these core values to address inequality and injustices in disabilities.

Its local partner Bee has a mission of the attainment of peace, development and justice through people’s meaningful participation and a bottom-up approach.

Similarly, the mission of mercy corps is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.

Its local counterpart nepal Red cross Society has the mission of relieving human suffering and reducing vulnerability through community participation and mobilization of increased numbers of volunteers by mobilizing the power of humanity through expansion and strengthening of the organizational structure of the society and by building links with governmental and non governmental organizations.

Practical Action has a mission of using technology to challenge poverty by:• building the capabilities of poor people • improving their access to technical

options and knowledge, and • working with them to influence social,

economic and institutional systems for innovation and the use of technology

2.7. Inventory of Programs and Projects with Geographical coverage

care nepal has implemented dIPecHo SAmAdHAn-I and SAmAdHAn II Project in order to contribute to the achievement of Hyogo Framework of Action in nepal by building resilience among communities, especially the poor, marginalized and socially excluded to withstand natural hazards with fewer losses of lives and assets. under the dIPecHo Action Plan for South Asia in nepal, the districts in which the Project was implemented were Sarlahi, mahottari and dhanusha.

Action Aid nepal implemented Surakshit Samudaya ( Building Resilience of the community to disasters ) Projects in makwanpur, Sarlahi, Rupandehi, Banke, Sunsari and udayapur districts. It was found that the capacity of communities was enhanced to reduce the impact of disasters through collective action, that an enabling environment was created through appropriate dRR policies and plans; and that target stakeholders demonstrate increased awareness of disaster preparedness methods at family and community level.

Similarly, mercy corps nepal executed community Based disaster management Projects under dIPecHo Iv in kailali district in six communities bordering the mohana River in the far-western terai – lalitpur, mohanpur, Shivaratnapur, Bisanpur, manikapur, and Jokahiyapur.

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Practical Action nepal has implemented four projects: Strengthening the capacity of communities to manage ewS, Banke Bardia flood warning program, mainstreaming livelihood-centred approaches to disaster management, and increasing community resilience to cope with impacts of climate change. these projects have been implemented in chitwan, nawalparasi, Banke and Bardia districts.

mission east has executed the Projects in Humla district one of the most remote districts of nepal. the objective is to secure increased resilience to natural disasters for remote and vulnerable mountain communities in Humla district so as to enable local communities and institutions of Humla district to prepare for mitigate and respond to disasters.

2.8. Service Delivery Mechanisms

the Ingos do not directly implement projects in the field. they enter into an agreement with a local ngo for the execution of the project. In order to select the ngo, the Ingos publish an invitation letter in the local newspaper and select from the interested ngos as per their requirement after evaluation using a suitable evaluation criteria. Sometimes, they select a particular ngo directly. For example, mercy crops entered into agreement with nepal Red cross Society for the implementation of its program in kailali.

the service is delivered generally through a hierarchical structure of three persons- district Project officer, Field officer and Social mobilizer. the non government organization generally proposes such a structure before entering into the agreement.

the Social mobilizer is generally selected among persons of the community where

the intervention is to be done. the work of the Social mobilizer is to familiarize the community with the project, arrange the meetings when the district officer and the Field officer visit, and for other activities as necessary.

the Field officers execute the Project with the direction of the district officer and the support of the Social mobilizer. they do so following the work schedule.

2.9. Financial Delivery Mechanism

the project is divided into several parts and the financial resource required for the implementation of each part is determined. After completion of the work, the ngo claims the payment, and after confirmation by the Accounts officer the payment is made in full or part depending upon the situation.

diagram 2.8 Service delivery mechanism

diagram 2.9 Financial delivery mechanism

estimation of

whole package

Breakdown into sub

packages

payment of the sub packages

after completion

district officer

field officer field officer social mobilizer

2.10. Effectiveness

the effectiveness of the projects was assessed by both international and national

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diagram 2.12 monitoring and evaluation mechanism

consultants. the international consultant Aguaconsult ltd. prepared a report in which was written, “the projects were well targeted and largely contributed to reducing vulnerability of populations living in areas most affected by natural disasters. Projects were well designed and planned and based on a comprehensive assessment and Project design process.”

the national consultant with respect to the projects implemented by Action Aid nepal has written “the project was implemented with immaculate plan and systems. though nepal was facing acute crisis through fuel shortage, power shortage and constant road blocks and strikes that hampered movement, particularly in the project areas, AAn dIPecHo project was implemented without being overtly hampered by such incidents. this happened only because of the strong planning and close monitoring, giving adequate room to accommodate last minute changes and alterations without affecting the overall project performance.”

Similarly the national consultant with regards to the mercy corps project implementation has written, “there are several indications that the project was carried out efficiently. the project successfully involved the deprived and marginalized sections of society in designing, planning, implementing and following-up on project activities, which were low-cost, local resource-driven, and indigenous knowledge and skill-based. It celebrated international days and ran start-up and completion workshops and various trainings jointly with care nepal to cut costs. despite its limited resources, it managed to carry out bio-engineering work on a wide scale. community contributions exceed more than 90% in activities like the construction of safe shelters and bio-engineering. effective monitoring systems made sure activities ran smoothly.

In addition, there is considerable evidence of the effectiveness of the project. the project was able to complete the majority of its activities within the set timeframe and before the danger of any flooding. It exploited the strengths of youths, in part by forming youth groups and yRcs in neighbouring communities and their schools. In general, the nRcS’s proven relationship with communities and schools made it easy to administer the project. River protection work was chosen so that there would be no harm done to other river communities and public auditing is carried out at the community level to ensure work will be transparent. the efficiency and effectiveness of the project has resulted in its sustainable results.”

2.11. Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) of Mercy Corps Project

cost-Benefit Analysis of the community based disaster Risk Reduction Project in kailali was carried out by mercy corps in 2007-2009 following the Hypothetical Approach, that compares the impact of a given disaster in a community with dRR to the hypothetical impact of this same disaster in the same community had it not had the dRR programme. the limitation of this approach is its reliance on inferences of impact rather than realized impacts and these may be of questionable accuracy depending on the circumstances. on the other hand, it may be very obvious in some cases how dRR influences disaster impacts, so hypothetical losses with or without dRR may be easy to assess accurately. the analysis yielded a B:c ratio of 3.49. this means that for every Rupee spent, there are 3.49 Rupees in economic benefit, thereby highlighting the economic benefit of the project.

m/e by the Implementing

office

m/e by the national

consultant

m/e by the International consultant

StAge 1 StAge 2 StAge3

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2.12. Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism

the monitoring and evaluation is done in three stages. Firstly, the agency itself carries it out within the first half of the project execution period. the project coordinator assesses the progress of the project, seeing whether or not the activities have been completed within the scheduled time period. this is done by visiting the project site in order to see whether or not the activities have been initiated.

the second stage monitoring and evaluation is carried out by engaging an external national consultant. the external consultant collects all the documents related to the project and then visits the site to assess progress.

the third stage evaluation is carried out after the completion of the project. this is done by an international consultant. It can be seen very clearly in the case of all the agencies in general, and care nepal in particular, how the first, second and third stages of evaluation were carried out by following the aforementioned approach.

2.13. Good Practices

there are several good practices executed by different agencies such as cARe nepal, Action Aid, Practical Action and mercy corps. this assessment report only includes the good practices that directly address the impacts of climate change. As climate change effects commonly manifest in the form of floods and drought, only those good practices that relate to these two events, and more particularly floods, have been described hereunder.

2.13.1. Good Practices of CARE NepalcARe nepal has carried out the following good practices:

• Construction of 2 storied houses with raised plinth levels. Before the 2008 flood there were no 2 storied (thati) houses in the village. there are about 30 houses of that type built after this year’s flood.

• Mobilization of local people for the preparation of Iec materials.

• Use of local people to write the script of the street dramas and also their involvement in the play.

• Use of local Deuda, Tharu and Raji song competitions to convey disaster preparedness messages.

• Arrangement of drills in every community and the preparation of contingency plans.

• Other practices are in the form of cultural leaps, such as the construction of elevated and two floored houses in the tharu community.

2.13.2 The Good Practices of Action Aid Nepal Action Aid also has carried out several works that can be seen as good practice as follows:

• Model Tube-wells for safe water (Sunsari) were installed to serve an estimated 5000 people. About 21 tube-wells were constructed with a raised platform to ensure safe drinking water during flood inundation.

• Search and Rescue Training at Rapti River to save lives, as people are often washed away by the swelling rivers to their death. Photo 2.12.1:

Shelter House - Source: Web Site

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Photo 2.12.2: Raised tube Well - Source: Web Site Photo 2.12.2c: Street drama - Source: Web Site

• Street Drama for Disaster Awareness (gangapur Banke). 30 local youths were organized in 2 street theatre groups. Street theatre is memorable especially for those who cannot read or write, and the community’s knowledge and skills for disaster preparedness are enhanced in the process.

• Preparation of DM and contingency plans.

• Fistful rice campaigns.• School retrofitting.• PVA.• Mainstreaming PWD in DRR.

• REFLECT approach for community empowerment.

• Visibility material development.• Celebration of EQ safety and ISDR days.• Publication of a thematic bulletin.• Training among DIPECHO projects in Nepal. • Pre-and post-monsoon workshops.• Orientation to teachers and political leaders

on HFA/ddR.

2.13.3. Good Practices by Practical Action NepalPractical Action nepal has also executed several works which are noteworthy and fit to be emulated, as follows:

• Construction of the Shelter Houses for times of disaster. School buildings, bridges, culverts and roadways were constructed to supplement the evacuation and safe intercommunity movement during floods. the shelter houses in particular have been found to be very useful because of their multi purpose character – being also used as community facilities where marriages, baptism and social gatherings can be held.

• Supply of Early Warning equipment. The project has provided several life saving sets of equipment in flood prone area like chitwan and nawalparasi. the equipment provided has been integral to the

Photo 2.12.2b: Search and Rescue - Source: Web Site

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development of vdc plans and helped reduce the community’s vulnerability during the times of flood. In all locations, pre-monsoon drills were carried out to test the systems, equipment and training.

• Wall paintings for raising awareness of people in the community. the photograph below shows a lady explaining the wall painting related to disaster preparedness to a small child.

Photo 2.12.2: emergency evacuation shelter in Chitwan- Source: Web Site

Photo 2.12.2: mock drill to test the Siren in banke - Source: Web Site Photo 2.12.2: A woman reading the message painted on a wall - Source: Web Site

2.14. Assessment of the Programs

It can be seen that most of the good practices address climate induced disasters such as floods in particular. these programs seem to have been properly implemented and managed. they provide models of projects and activities that could be more widely implemented in forthcoming climate adaptation programs.

3.0. Introduction

urban areas have been recognized as being vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, together with other sectors such as water and energy, forest and biodiversity, agriculture and food security, disasters risk management and health. the urban areas in nepal have to be addressed because they contribute to 68 per cent of the gdP of the country, despite the very low investment made on them. kathmandu alone contributes 20 per cent of the gdP. the urban areas are the vehicle of growth in nepal which can be seen by the annual growth of the urban economy by 6.4 per cent, almost double of the growth of the rural economy and these should be protected against the adverse impacts of climate change in all respects. whilst the most northern ecological belt, the mountains, is least urbanized, the rate of urbanization increases in the hills and the terai plains as one moves down south. this section seeks to present the state of the urban areas in nepal with respect to the climate change, and the agencies which are working in them.

3.1. Urban Scenario of Nepal

nepal is less urbanized in comparison with other countries of the world. Its urban population is 14.2 per cent and there are 58 municipalities including the metropolitan city of kathmandu and the four Sub-metropolitan cities of lalitpur, Biratnagar, Birgunj and Pokhara. But its rate of urbanization is the fastest in the SAARc region. the urban population in nepal is expected to reach 25 per cent by the end of the year 2020.

clImAte cHAnge And uRBAn SettlementS

tABle 4.1: urban Population in Nepal

census municipalities Population Increase % of total pop

1952-54 10 238375 - 2.6

1961 16 366222 42.5 3.6

1971 16 461933 37.4 4.0

1981 23 956,721 107.1 6.4

1991 33 1695719 77.2 9.2

2001 58 2775000 42 14.2

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the urban areas lack adequate infrastructure and the continued migration from the rural areas has resulted in a deterioration of the environment. the urban areas in nepal are marked by a shortage of safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and solid waste collection and disposal facility, clogged drains and a paucity of paved roads. Poor water quality and water and noise pollution are the other glaring problems crippling the urban areas in nepal. the later particularly has come into being due to the vehicular as well as industrial emissions such as brick kilns and burning of solid wastes such as plastics. the kathmandu valley in particular displays the steady erosion of the cultural heritage, with the solitary exception of Bhaktapur municipality. the common problems can be summarized as: the instant flooding due to compact paved development, heat island effect created by asphalt paved roads, large demand of drinking water due to the concentration of people, shortage of power and load-shedding creating inconvenience during the hot and cold waves, combined sewers carrying storm water and sewage, and at times epidemics due to the spill over of sewage into the water supply.

nepali cities, as elsewhere, are experiencing the effect of climate change. According to nAPA, climate change has direct impacts on urban settlements, such as more frequent and more hazardous floods, reduced availability of freshwater supplies, and indirect impacts, such as extreme weather events that increase food prices or damage poorer households’ asset bases. climate change can lead to increased damage to buildings, energy services, telecommunications, transport structures and water services (IPcc, 2007). obviously, these impacts are likely to affect the quality of life and safety of residents in affected areas. the climate vulnerability of nepalese settlements and subsequently the need to adapt varies depending on a range of factors, including their form and size, location, geography, and economy. In this context, the dense and unsafe built form of

urban settlements in nepal is one of the major factors for climate vulnerability. the ongoing physical changes within municipalities can be seen as land-use changes, new built form, land transaction, and land fragmentation. the open spaces as places of escape during major disaster such as fire and floods are decreasing, thereby adding to the vulnerability of settlements. most of the construction works are carried out haphazardly without proper planning or monitoring and without following building codes.

3.2. Manifestation of Climate Change

climate change manifests in the form of floods and the drying of water sources. Both of these lead to epidemics such as outbreaks of cholera. In fact, nepal is regarded as a hot spot of disasters, with its people being exposed to an average of two disasters every year. floods, landslides, fire, heat waves, cold waves and hail storms are events that cause disasters annually. these can result in death, injury , displacement, loss of crops and livestock, loss of income or livelihood, hunger, malnutrition, reduced environmental services, and migration. nepal is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. nepal is in sixth position on the list of the countries affected

(Diagram 3.2: Number of Deaths)

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Numbers of deaths ( 1971-2007)

epidemic

Fire

Flood

landslides

earthquake

Structural collapse

thundestrom

others

epidemic57%

Structural collapse1%

earthquake3%

thundestrom3%

Fire4%

Flood11%

others6%

landslides15%


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by climate change, eleventh with respect to the earthquakes and 30th with regards to water-induced disasters such as flood and landslides.

3.3. Agencies working on climate change

there are several ngos working on climate change in nepal. A loose network called the ‘ngo group on climate change’ has been formed and a meeting was held on 19th April, 2009 in nepal Administrative Staff college. the agencies that attended the meeting were:

• Clean Energy Nepal• Natural Disaster Management Forum

nepal• FORWARD• Forest Action Nepal• ECCA Nepal• LI-BIRD• RIMS-Nepal• MDO- Koshi• ECOCENTRE Chitwan• Environment Study Group• NIDS• MDO- Kaski• NTNC• MFSC

the activities carried out by some of these agencies are as follows.

3.3.1. RIMS, Nepalthe major working areas of this institution are population, health and sanitation. they also work in adult education, biodiversity threat assessment, and linking biodiversity and livelihoods. Some of the implemented rojects are:

• Community Forestry Management Programme

• Strengthened Actions for Governance in utilization of natural Resources (SAgun) Program

• Resin Tapping Program• Population Health and Environment

Program (PHe) • Agro biodiversity Conservation Program• Non Timber Forest Product Program• Assessment of Climate Change Impacts• Dhading Environment Protection (DEP)

Program • Health and Sanitation• Building Resilience of Farmers from

climate change• Livestock for Income Generation

3.3.2. Macchapuchre Development Organization (MDO)the need to incorporate climate change issues has been highlighted in recent community level meetings and workshops. over the last two decades, mdo has been conducting its activities in Pachase danda. It recently conducted orientation on climate

Photo 3.3.1: Activities of RimS Nepal- Source: Web Site

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change issues for community user groups. In Phewa lake and Panchase conservation area, mdo is lobbying with constituent assembly member and politicians to incorporate environmental issues into the drafting of the constitution which is underway.

3.3.3. ECOCENTER over the last two years, major activities have been in the realm of the climate change. these consist of interaction with media about climate change issues, awareness raising activities such as the celebration of environment day, school level awareness programs and the development of a course for high school students, documentation of local level adaptation, and the building of community resilience through organic farming. the integration of climate change issues in various other programs is one of the major plans of the institution.

3.3.4. Environment Study Group (ESG) Increased awareness in the School level has been one of the major working areas of the group. Research on climate change is among the future priorities.

3.3.5. Nepal Institute for Development Studies (NIDS)this Institute is running programs related to appropriate technology, renewable energy, improving cooking stoves and organic farming. most of these are community based, and the integration of climate adaptation programs can be seen in various activities. the organisation is linked with Fk network, norway, which carries out activities concerned with climate change. It is involved in various awareness-raising programs such as exhibitions to school children and community, orientation programs to journalists, photo exhibitions, art competitions and media campaigns.

3.3.6. Clean Energy Nepal (CEN)the organisation’s activities include climate change related publications, the regular distribution of clean energy newsletters, and

raising awareness in schools. It organises climate talk programs regularly to create discussion regarding recent national and international initiatives on climate change. the nepal youth for climate change (nycA) network has been set up, representing youth from all over nepal, to raise awareness on issues of climate change. cen has recently supported cA members with the collection of feedback on the constitution making process through the ghar dailo (Household visit) program. Furthermore, a consultation workshop was organized to prepare policy related to climate change and the resulting

Photo 3.3.5: Appropriate technology development in Humla- Source: Web Site

Photo 3.3.6: School Level Awareness Program- Source: Web Site

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Photo 3.3.7: maize Farming- Source: Web Site

suggestions were submitted to ministry. the future plan of cen is to establish a resource centre and implement disaster risk reduction program in collaboration with various partners working in this area.

3.3.7. FORWARDRiver bed farming (bagare kheti) is being practiced with water melon and various gourds as the predominant species in flood prone areas. diverse activities related to adaptation have been conducted, such as community-based fish farming through rain water harvesting, irrigation from snow harvesting ponds, conservation farming with farmyard manure, and home gardening. Research is underway to identify appropriate varieties in maize for the changed climate. A stress-tolerant variety of mungbean is being released in collaboration with nARc. For disaster risk reduction, awareness raising activities such as celebration of global

campaign day and knowledge transfer, are in progress. the concept of mainstreaming climate change issues into the office program is being developed.

3.3.8. Environment Camps for Conservation Awareness (ECCA)environment awareness programmes have been conducted by eccA since 1987. the major activity is related to tree plantation in schools and open areas. more than 100,000 Jatropa plants have already been planted. the organization is also working in reduction of carbon emission by replacing kerosene lamps with solar lamps. In addition, water supply and sanitation programs are being implemented in school areas. talk Programmes and documentary shows have been used to disseminate information to youth every thursday. the national youth meet is organized every year, and this year there was a focus on climate change issues. other activities include rainwater harvesting and establishment of resource centres.

3.3.9. Forest Actionthis agency publishes special articles on climate change in the Journal forestry and livelihoods. Articles have concentrated on redd and knowledge management and dissemination. It is part of the working group of redd formed by mofsc. It took part in the copenhagen climate congress. similarly, it has participated in many formal and informal meetings, workshops and seminars. It receives support from lfp on climate change issues. It has plans for field piloting and developing human resources on climate change in the future.

3.4. Good Practices

From the above, it can be seen very clearly that no activities have been carried out with urban settlements. most of the activities appear to be concentrated on raising awareness about climate change; whilst none have carried out interventions in urban areas for the mitigation of climate change effects and development of adaptive capacity. However, some good practices such as using open areas for plantation can be emulated in the urban areas where there is wasteland by the side of the roads etc.

Photo 3.3.8: Solar Lamp- Source: Web Site

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4.0 Introduction

It can be seen from the preceding sections that the disaster risk management has made quite a headway in nepal compared with what was it like in the past. Whilst it used to be fatalistic and relief oriented in the early days, it now addresses the complete cycle of preparedness, rescue and relief, as well as reconstruction and rehabilitation. moreover, the climate induced disasters such as floods and landslides have been addressed to a great extent. there have been some good practices which can be emulated in the future. However in the area of addressing climate change effects in urban settlements, there has been little progress. there is a need to identify ways that will enable organisations to scale up programmes that enhance adaptive capacity. this section proposes means by which the organizations can develop and scale-up programs for creating and enhancing adaptive capacity.

4.1. Need of Mainstreaming

whether climate induced disasters or increased climate risks in the urban areas, these situations have to be addressed by the local agencies such as the vdcs, ddcs or municipalities. these agencies operate following periodic plans prepared for their area. It was found that the periodic plans of the ddc and municipality originally had not mainstreamed disaster risk reduction, and hence the required works were not being carried out in a permanent basis or with any continuity. So, the disaster risk management issues were mainstreamed in to the existing periodic plans.

the guidelines issued by the nPc to the potential implementing agencies for formulation of annual plans had no mention of disaster related issues explicitly. the other two documents, concerning guidelines to ddcs and municipalities had very little provision on the subject. therefore, the document of nPc on annual program and budget, and the other two documents of the ddc and municipalities were revisited, and revised to incorporate issues relating to dRR. while revisiting these documents several critical issues have been introduced, such as: disaster impact assessment, dRR, dRm, preparedness, rescue, relief, recovery, rehabilitation, disaster management, disaster resistant infrastructure, retrofitting physical infrastructure, inventory management, hazard and vulnerable maps, land-use, climate change, awareness raising, education and training, emergency health services and facilities, special attention to disadvantaged, disabled and needy persons, and communication. the documents that were revised are:

cReAtIng/enHAncIng AdAPtIve cAPAcIty

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a. ‘guidelines for the formulation of regular administrative and annual development program and budget (recurrent and capital) for the respective fiscal year’ prepared by nPc

b. ‘guidelines for the formulation of periodic district development plans’, and

c. ‘guidelines for the formulation of periodic municipality development plans’

4.1.1. Mainstreaming DRR in the NPC Guidelinesthe following additions have been made to the nPc guidelines:

• A statement that discourages the approval of a project which has not carried out the dIA.

• A clause that provides for the approval of projects which deal with the protection of crops and livestock together with the storage of food and seeds required after the disasters.

• Provision for open spaces that can be used for post disaster situations.

• Inclusion of Disaster Risk Management under Forest and environment Protection, including climate change and environmental protection.

• Adoption of programs that minimize losses due to disasters such as flood, landslides and fires.

• Preparation of landslide and flood hazard maps.

• Inclusion of disaster risk management content in the education curriculum from the Primary level.

• Enforcement of Building Codes.• Inclusion of disaster risk management

while preparing integrated action plans.• Giving priority to Disaster Risk

management works while allocating support for socially backward groups.

• Inclusion of disaster risk management in the preparation of the local plans.

• A statement about providing disaster resistant health facilities like hospitals.

• A code of conduct for the construction of roads for safety of the people.

• Provision for temporary shelter and relief with special consideration for children, women and marginalized communities.

• Giving special consideration for physically challenged people in disaster situations.

• Focus on preparedness works for saving industrial establishments during disasters.

• Mechanisms for rescue, relief storage and lawful distribution after the a disaster.

• Provision of retrofitting World Heritage sites and tourism spots.

• Initiating preparation for preventing air hijacking and accidents.

• Using earthquake resistant technology in the reconstruction of infrastructure destructed during conflict.

• Carrying out DIA for projects related to electrical power generation.

• Provision for sufficient drinking water after disasters.

• Provision of projects for information collection and distribution from satellites, Fm.

• Giving priority to projects related to Early warning Systems and minimization of likely damage from climate change and gloF.

4.1.2. Mainstreaming DRR into guidelines for the formulation of periodic district development plansthe original guideline was prepared in 2002 by the national planning commission, but, in the course of mainstreaming disaster risk, the following additions were made:

• The safety of physical structures and the effective implementation of the disaster Risk management Plan.

• The need to prepare hazard maps.• The need to refer to the Disaster

Risk Reduction Policy passed by the government.

• The need to incorporate the aspects related to disaster risk management.

• The need to refer to the situation of disaster risk.

• The need to think about the effect likely to

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be created by disasters. • The need to identify disaster vulnerable

areas, so that the people stay away.• The need to provide open spaces, such as

for triage, temporary shelter and later for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

• The need to think about the disturbance in the essential services after the disasters regarding possible alternates.

• Addition of a separate section on District disaster Scenarios.

• The need to assess whether agricultural land will be affected after the disaster.

• The need to arrange for the cost to rehabilitate the land damaged due to disasters.

• The need to prevent the tree felling.• The need to arrange water in the case of

disasters.• The need to create embankments for flood

control.• The need to document the deaths due

to disasters and the provision of drugs necessary after disasters.

• The need to make safety services available immediately after disasters.

• The need to save forest, environment and biological diversity.

• The need to consider disaster risk possibilities in rural and urban environmental situations.

• The need to assess the experts required to give training on disaster risk management.

• The need to consider the likely effects of disasters and to carry out disaster Impact Assessment.

• Addition of a new section entitled Disaster Risk management.

• Inclusion of disaster risks amongst other risks.

4.1.3. Mainstreaming DRR into guidelines for the formulation of periodic municipality development plansthe original guidelines were prepared in 2003 by the ministry of local development, and in the course of mainstreaming disaster risks into development, the following additions were made:

• A statement that the objectives include incorporation of programs related to dRR in view of the vulnerability of many municipalities to disasters.

• Reference to Acts and Policies related to dRR.

• A disaster expert among other experts preparing the plan.

• Disaster Risk Management Plans under environmental management, including mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery programs.

• Areas affected by and likely to be affected by earthquake, floods and landslides.

• A hazard map, including the location of forests and rivers.

• Land use planning so as to maximise safety and minimise loss of lives due to disasters.

• The principle of feeling safe from disasters.• Addition of disaster data (number of

deaths, injured, lost etc) in the data base.

4.2. The Need for the Preparation of VDC Periodic Plans

It is expected that after making these amendments to the guidelines of the nPc and the periodic plans of the ddc and the municipality, the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in development works will be significantly achieved. there is also a need to prepare a periodic plan for the vdc, incorporating disaster components, so that the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction can be ensured in every level of developmental works.

4.3. The Need to Mainstreaming Climate Change into Plans

In the preceding sections, it was seen how the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction was made in the nPc and periodic plan guidelines. Similarly, the mainstreaming of

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climate change needs to take place in the aforementioned plans, including vdc plans. whilst its mainstreaming in ddc and vdc level plans will boost the management of climate induced disasters, so its mainstreaming in the municipality plans will encourage the mitigation of climate induced problems in urban settlements.

4.4 Scaling-up Good Practices

the good practices that support disaster preparedness and adaptive capacity development should be scaled-up in order to benefit rural and urban communities. At the present, these practices are emulated in other nearby vulnerable communities if there is extension of support through donor agencies. unfortunately, this is not generally the case. the disaster risk management projects are generally supported by external agencies and the activities come to a virtual standstill after their departure. the local government is also generally unable to provide continuity due to the absence of the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in its local plan and programs.

4.5 Working modalities and approaches for implementing climate change adaptation programs disasters are commonly localized phenomena, with exceptions such as earthquakes which can be regional and even bilateral, as was the Pakistan earthquake which shook Pakistan as well as India. disaster Risk Reduction should, therefore, generally be incorporated by local governments, and the local Self governance Act of 1999 gave such authority to local government in nepal. local government in nepal exists in the form of district development committee, municipality and village development committee. For

implementing climate change adaptation projects, a memorandum of understanding should be signed with the ministry of local development as it has its networks flowing down to ddc and vdc level.

district development committees generally operate according to the district Periodic Plan. Similarly, municipalities function on the basis of the periodic plan. these plans previously did not include the component of disaster risk, but recently disaster risk management has been mainstreamed into the periodic plans of districts and municipalities. As there is no periodic plan guideline yet prepared for the vdc, there is a good opportunity to mainstream both disaster Risk Reduction as well as climate change. once this arrangement is in place, it will be convenient to scale-up climate change Adaptation Programs. In fact, the flow of funds to the vdc could have been a better option had there been peoples’ representatives in the office. In their absence, the fund should flow through the nexus of the International and national non government organizations, as is the case at the present under dePIcHo Projects. As this approach has stood the test of time, characterized by the absence of peoples’ representatives, it should be further given continuity in the future until the arrival of elected peoples’ representatives in the political scene.

the working modality should thus consist of • CADP-N entering into a MoU with the

ministry of local development.• Supporting the MoLD towards the

preparation of the Periodic Plan for the vdc, taking the periodic plans of the ddc and municipality as a reference, and ensuring climate change is mainstreamed into this plan.

• Entering into an agreement with a Local ngo working on climate change.

• The execution of the Climate Change Adaptation Projects should then be carried out in collaboration with the vdc

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4.5.1. Alternative Arrangementthere could be an alternative arrangement of creating a liaison between the donor agency and the ddc, whereby the donor agency works in close consultation with the vdc where the Projects are implemented. But this arrangement cannot be taken for granted while the new alternate is implemented to find out its efficacy.

It can be seen in the diagram above that adaptation works could be executed by the Project office which will have representation from the ccA unit and vdc. It will be guided by the district disaster Relief committee. the dto can provide the technical support required for the implementation of successful adaptation projects.

diagram 4.5aAlternate Working modalities

diagram 4.5 Working modalities

entering into mou with mold for climate change Adapatation adaptation

preparation of periodic plan for vdc

preparation of periodic plan of

the vdc mainstreaming climate change

Agreement with ngo working on climate change

execution of the Adaptation projects through ngo in

collaboration with the vdcs

donor AgencY

ccA unIt formed BY

donor AgencY

district disaster relief committee as

an advisor

project office formed by ccA unit and vdc

vdc

ddc

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Adpc, 2009, Detailed Scope of Work for Priority Implementation Partnership on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction ( DRR) into National Development Planning Process in Nepal, Bangkok, Asian disaster preparedness center, January

Agua consult ltd., 2010, Evaluation of the DG Echo Action in Nepal, ecHo

Bo A. White et al, 2009, Cost- Benefit Analysis for Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction in Kailali, Nepal, mercy corps, nepal

government of nepal, 2010, National Adaptation Plan of Action( Draft ), ministry of environment

Hmg, 1999, Local Self Governance Act, His majesty’s government of nepal

nepal red cross society, 2008,2009, Annual Report, nepal red cross societyngo group on climate change, 2009, Meeting, ngo group on climate change

united nations development program, 2010, Economic and Financial Decision Making in Disaster Risk Reduction, Nepal Case Study, undp and moHA

united nations development program, 2010, Economic Gobal Assessment of Risks, Nepal Country Report, Isdr

uprety, Bishal nath, 2006, The nexus between Natural Disasters and Development, Key Policy Issues in Meeting the Millennium Development Goals and Poverty Alleviation, paper prepared for economic policy network and Asian development Bank

ReFeRenceS